Greetings, from Ilvermorny
by Starysky205
Summary: Mysteries and Adventures are not unique to those important enough to have stories told about them. Maybe they'll seem a little mundane in comparison, but sometimes in the chaos of life, we forget to relish simplicity. This is mostly original, if that doesn't agree with you, then I'm afraid this isn't your cup of tea.
1. Crossed Paths (p1)

I made up a streets and numbers, please don't look for them. I made the US version of Diagon alley be in New Orleans bc it made sense. [A/N: Someone tried to use a bat as massager animal, you can guess what happened next]

Me making titles for every book in the list carefully: But would they have reading for more practical subjects?

Also me: I make this to de-stress

* * *

Act I: Crossed Paths (part 1)

It starts with a broken mirror, a bathroom, and a single wish, and ends with the cooing of a pigeon, the sound of paper, and a wet gasp.

It starts at eleven years old with an endless chanting of wrong spinning in her mind like a curse, curled in the ground and surrounded by broken glass while ignorance saves her from an abrupt ending; and then there's the letter. There's a moment where she just stares at the bird with the envelope in mouth and questions its existence before she reaches out and takes the letter from the pigeon, the bird seems to watch her carefully as she opens it and unfurls its contents.

{-}

_To Miss Evelin D. Peterson; 23th Rosewood St.; Erie, Pennsylvania_

_We are glad to inform you of your acceptance at the Ilvermorny Academy of Magic and Sorcery, starting as of September 2nd. You will be required to obtain the following list of items by that date: _

· _A wand_

· _A cauldron, and a basic potion set_

· _A copy of the following books: "Ilvermorny, a brief history"-_ _Radovan Moore; "Brewing: Misconception and usage"- Edna Van Dale; "Sorcery through the ages"- Rasmus Hume; "Transfiguration vs Alchemy, a discussion"- Asclepius Wallach; "Flora of the magic world"- Neilina Boyle._

· _A messaging animal of choice (as of this year we no longer accept non-avians) _

· _Writing utensils and paper (exams and assignments will be requested in parchment, but otherwise of choice) _

_Optional: A secondary animal companion; due to health and security matters we will request anything bigger than an owl to be on leash when outside of living quarters. _

_Takin into consideration the student's family situation a guide will be provided for both the trip to the Chapardeur Market (Dumain St.; New Orleans, Louisiana) as of three days of receiving this letter, and to the cableway (Magical access only) on the eve of the first day of school._

_We await your arrival._

_Varuna Sharma, head of Student Department_

_And_

_Headmaster Zephyrus Dimov_

{-}

She stands on shaky legs, hand clutching at the paper, eyes like a storm as they meet the impossibly smart ones of the bird atop the sink, where the glass has failed to fall, because the break wasn't natural. With practiced caution she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, there's a sound of wings and when she opens them again the mirror is repaired and the pigeon has taken rest on the toilet, the door to her right opens with a bang, and both bird and girl leave the bathroom.

{+}

Or maybe it starts with a discussion of names, and contacts, and the future; with raised voices, and loose feathers, and spilled ink. And it ends with the sound of crumpled paper, running footsteps, and a key turning on its lock.

It definitely starts at elven years old, but perhaps it does as he pushes a bookcase against the door, magic coiling at the base and wrapping around it as it's settled in its place as barrier, a sense of relief when a third voice joins the ones trying to get him to come out, booming and authoritative in a way that betrays just how young the bearer is; he is still thankful. The bird is a surprise, brown and white and pristine as it seems to wait in his windowsill, envelope held securely in its mouth.

He takes it carefully, settling it down on his desk together with the other two letters he received that day, but this one has a different seal and if only for that, it is the one he chooses to read.

{+}

_To Mister Scott Crowner; 19th Saline Av.; Metairie, Louisiana._

_We are glad to inform you of your acceptance at the Ilvermorny Academy of Magic and Sorcery, starting as of September 2nd. You will be required to obtain the following list of items by that date: _

· _A wand_

· _A cauldron, and a basic potion set_

· _A copy of the following books: "Ilvermorny, a brief history"-_ _Radovan Moore; "Brewing: Misconception and usage"- Edna Van Dale; "Sorcery through the ages"- Rasmus Hume; "Transfiguration vs Alchemy, a discussion"- Asclepius Wallach; "Flora of the magic world"- Neilina Boyle._

· _A messaging animal of choice (as of this year we no longer accept non-avians) _

· _Writing utensils and paper (exams and assignments will be requested in parchment, but otherwise of choice) _

_Optional: A secondary animal companion; due to health and security matters we will request anything bigger than an owl to be on leash when outside of living quarters. _

_We await your arrival._

_Varuna Sharma, head of Student Department_

_And_

_Headmaster Zephyrus Dimov_

{+}

Though to be honest, it could start with a million other people, in a million other places, with different names and letters and choices; so, what makes this story more worth telling than any other? Nothing, and that is the beauty of it, it's one story out of a thousand could be-s.

Two pigeons fly from different windows at the same time, their destination the same; and maybe there are more, or maybe not, but those are other stories for other days.


	2. Crossed Paths (p2)

Most of these characters were created back in 2009 when I started really putting effort in fanfiction, it makes sense to bring them back to life 10 years after the fact; please treat them with care. Fuck Rowling saying Gringots is the only bank in the magic world, also if any of you can tell me how many dollars a galleon is worth, then maybe I'll be able to understand how magic currency works.

* * *

2\. Act I: Crossed Paths (part 2)

The person in charge of introducing Evelin to the magical world is, by all accounts, a teenager, one with dark skin and hair but impossibly yellow eyes, who claims to be called Angela Yailaor, and Evelin spends all their time together convinced it's a fake name.

Evelin learns about floo powder and the wonders of chimneys, which take them to a whole other state in a matter of minutes, is Pennsylvania even close to Louisiana? Evelin was bad at geography. Then they go through a door that makes Evelin think of her mother talking speakeasies, and Angela's hair changes color in a cascade turning violet and gold and her eyes turn gas fire blue.

"Oh"

Angela lets out a loud laugh, nose scrunching and eyes squinting.

"Oh?"

Evelin shrugs, heat climbing to her cheeks, and silently mourns the fact that her paleness will do nothing to hide her flustered state; Angela levels her with a bright look, laugh-laced smile still adorning her features.

"You're going to be a riot; I can tell"

Evelin concentrates on matching her wider strides, wondering if there's much of an age gap, or if Angela is simply that tall.

"I think that's a compliment"

Angela lets out another loud laugh, voice ricocheting against the walls of the hallway they're walking through, candles setting a warm but dim light against her skin. Finally, they reach what looks like a heavy stone door, and Angela pauses dramatically.

"Try to not cry"

Evelin frowns in confusion, until Angela pushes the door open as though it were made of cloth, and gently pushes her forward; then her breath leaves her all at once and she understands. The sight that unfurls before her is that of a brightly colored marketplace, bustling with activity; but the energy that swirled around every single thing on show as well as every being on the street, sent her reeling.

That's when she felt it, wrapping around her and filling her every sense with blue, beckoning her; and her feet are moving before she can even register it, but a hand stops her motion.

"Whatever it is will have to wait until you have money"

Angela's eyes are a gun drawn and pointed to her, so Evelin nods carefully and watches as they change back to their previous color before Angela turns and starts leading her through the crowded street; she silently hopes they send someone else to escort her to the cable cars, but knows her luck to be less than ideal and tries not to let her displeasure show, nor her fear.

{-}

Zach is a force to be reckoned with, as he takes none of their parents' nonsense and takes Scott to the magic market, the place probably has a proper name, but Scott has called it magic market since he knew what words were, and he's not stopping now.

Their first step is the bank, which is still a wide space filled with floating platforms with desks, connected by moving stairs, and ran by goblins; people always said they were very mean, but as far as the bankers were concerned, no goblins had been mean to Scott.

Zach takes them to Winny's desk, as she's always been the one to take them to their vault, she seems to perk up when she sees them, and shows that smile that's generally hidden from their parents, because adults prefer stiffness apparently.

"If it isn't the Crowner boys, here to retire some money?"

Scott gave her a wave before looking up at his brother, who slimed gently.

"I'm helping my brother shop for school supplies, is that much money ok for me to take without our parents here?"

Winny smiled brightly, sharp nails tapping against the desk in a flurry.

"Of course, you are of age to perform spells out of school after all, I'm sure I can trust you with a few coins"

She jumped out of her high-chair, and tapped the underside of the desk, causing it to open in half and bend downwards revealing a descending spiral staircase.

"Right this way then"

As they climbed down the steps followed by a floating orb of light, Scott finally opened his mouth.

"Did any other kids come today?"

Winny's ears shifted telling him the banker was smiling in amusement.

"Just the one, most adults think it's less trouble if they come without"

A second light orb joined them as they climbed down farther from the entrance.

"Clever little thing about your age, came with miss Yailaor, very careful around her"

Zach let out a short laugh.

"Clever for sure"

{-}

Now with magic-world money in her pockets, even after being dragged by Angela to actually get her school supplies, Evelin is free to follow the pull wherever it might take her, and follow she does. It just so happens that the pull leads her to a pet shop, to a section lined with too small cages containing too big birds, to the one creature there that's not common to her.

The bird is the size of a crow, with similarly black colored body and wings, but the head and neck are entirely blue, like pigment blue, like Evelin is kind of worried they died the bird blue, and then her eyes meet sharp almost black brown eyes and she swears she hears a melody that feels impossibly familiar and entirely unrecognizable in spades.

She picks the silver cage the bird's in with upmost care, surprising herself with how light it is despite being made of metal, and carries it dutifully to the counter, where a woman in dark purple robes gives her a look.

"Hello miss, I'd like to buy this bird"

"That's an Arliuz"

"Is that bad? It called me here, am I cursed?"

The lady blinked once, twice, and then finally spoke.

"If it really did call you here then you're in no danger, arliuces are very picky about their humans, and can be a real hassle when they don't get their way"

"Oh, that's ok then, I'm picky about humans too"

The lady chuckled, and went to check a sheet, the arliuz made a weirdly melodic crowing sound, and the lady stiffened.

"Tell you what, I'll sell it to you for just one galleon if you name it right now"

Evelin smiled, mind already sent on the perfect name.

"Azul!"


	3. Crossed Paths (p3)

I'm trying to show instead of telling for certain traits in my characters, because I only have so much time to introduce them to you. Based the design of the Ilvermorny building in my own school with some adjustments since that building didn't have a place for students to sleep; also magic.

The fact that this is technically a fanfic means I can do whatever I want with it.

* * *

3\. Act I: Crossed paths (part 3)

The cable line was hidden behind a fake wall of rocks, so the mountain it actually passed through seemed thicker than it really was; according to Angela, only people with magic could go through, which was why Evelin had to say her goodbyes in the little café-cabin nearby; she did have the pleasure of seeing Angela's very confused brown over the fact that her mom insisted on doing them in Scots[1] instead of English.

She played with the smooth handle of her wand, stone feeling reassuringly cold against her fingers, while she followed after her guide cautiously; she didn't know any spells yet, but she guessed it could do as a distraction if she used it correctly. Angela was wearing a uniform, much like Evelin herself, but hers had very particular colors, while the one Evelin wore was simply black and white; they head to where people are dropping their luggage, and stop when they meet with a different teen in similarly colored uniform to Angela, and someone Evelin's age.

The teen has short blond hair and strikingly bi-colored eyes, one green and the other dark brown, the kid besides them has long reddish-brown hair and the greenest eyes Evelin's ever seen.

"Oh Dallas, didn't know they assigned you a halfie too"

"Nomage-born actually"

"Aw, I wanted one of those"

"Angela"

The word was said in a warning growl of a sound, and Evelin decided that moment that she liked the new teen much better than her guide.

"I like your bird"

Evelin whirled towards the kid, startled at the sudden comment, but managed to not jump back, instead drawing a smile on her face.

"Thanks, her name is Azul"

The kid gasps.

"Español!"

"Oh… I'm not good at it yet"

"It's so cool you know some though, oh I'm Rosalinda, Rosalinda Wellings"

"Evelin Peterson"

"This is Dallas; he knows all about magic"

The teen seems to get flustered as he turns to Rosalinda, Evelin nods.

"This is Angela; I don't trust her"

Rosalinda blinked at her twice before glancing at Angela and taking a step sideways, which caused Dallas to bust out laughing and Angela's hair and eyes to go fully fuchsia; Evelin copied Rosalinda without even glancing.

{+}

"Honey we had a compromise"

"I'm not in charge of the seating, am I?"

Scott watched as she opened a closed her mouth a few times before making to storm off.

"You will not make a scene mother"

He was really glad Zach had decided to tag along, even if it was in his very different uniform, and hid his embarrassment by putting his attention somewhere else, eyes falling into two figures in the girl version of the uniform he was made to wear, one holding a cage with an arliuz of all creatures.

"Mother, can I go now? I think the kids my age are boarding already"

His mother whirled towards him with a sharp look which Scott contested with an innocent one of his own, which is turn made her face drop for exactly one beat before she smiled brightly.

"Oh, of course sweetie, you don't wanna look bad on the first day"

And then she was bending down expertly so her clothes wouldn't touch the ground as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Now be a good boy and listen to your teachers, ok?"

"Yes mother"

Zach shot him a thumbs up from over their mother's shoulder, and Scott smiled at him before quickly walking away before she could change her mind. The student he's paired with for the ride is around his age, with long-ish light orange hair and bright eyes, they smile equally brightly as they raise a hand like the beginning of a wave.

"Hail and well met"

Later Scott would learn that the strange phrasing came from a game the other liked to play, as well as the fact that he was called Liam Parsley, and knew a fair amount about the magical world thanks to his game despite having no magical connections otherwise; and maybe Scott was a little impressed.

He makes sure to wave goodbye to his brother before climbing aboard the bubble-like thingy, and as the sliding door clicks shut, he takes a deep breath and steels himself for the trip.

{*}

The building has three visible floors, but Rosalinda suspects underground levels, because that seems like a US thing to do; or at least that's what movies have led her to believe. She gets to have her suspicions proven right by the end of the night, but first there's the house placing.

They are made to stand in a single file, and made to enter through one of the many doors decorating an impossibly long hallway. The door is a slightly dark beige that almost loses itself on the wall, a small window atop, only it's that weird pointy glass that doesn't let you see through.

No one comes back from the other side, which is worrying, but the magical kids don't seem scared, so Rosalinda convinces herself that she isn't either. Her new maybe friend, Evelin, stands right in front of her, holding herself tensely straight, a hand left hand buried in the pocket of her uniform; somehow this brings Rosalinda comfort.

Eventually Evelin disappears behind the door, hand still clutching at something on her pocket, and then it's Rosalinda's turn. She takes a deep breath before the door opens again, and then she rushes forward, only to stop dead in her tracks as the door shuts loudly behind her, making her look up.

She finds herself staring at a group of people in various versions of the school uniform, yet all maintain the same two colors, green and blue; and above them a shield sits proudly on the wall, a snake in the same colors with horns crowning its head. Rosalinda looks around at the new faces until her eyes fall on the strange ones of her maybe friend, Evelin smiles at her, posture much more relaxed than before and hands at her sides, Rosalinda doesn't hesitate to go join her.

"It was a magic door"

The new voice comes from someone at Evelin's right side, they remind Rosalinda a little of home with their dark but not quite skin and curly hair, warm eyes and smile at the ready.

"What does that mean?"

Evelin knits her eyebrows together as she says this, but Rosalinda can tell she isn't angry.

"It sends you to the room you most need to be in, but this one is connected to rooms with the crests of each house"

Rosalinda blinks a few times.

"What does crest mean?"

Evelin points her index slightly towards the shield on the wall, thumb raised upwards for some reason.

"That's a crest"

"How's that different from a shield?"

"It won't protect you"

"Oh, ok"

The person who spoke to them gives them a look, but not a bad look, Rosalinda just doesn't know the word for their expression yet. She'll later learn that they're waiting here until the ceremony ends, which will be signaled by what's usually the dinner bell; and then they'll be led by the only adult in the room to where they'll eat all of their meals.

They are separated into rooms of two, Evelin and her are roomed together, their things magically appearing at the feet of each bed, Evelin's pet bird included; Azul made weird bird noises at Rosalinda but Evelin seemed to manage calming the bird down. Rosalinda didn't worry though, no, she had a feeling everything would work out eventually.

* * *

[1] Apparently, of Scots speak this… language? Dialect? I don't know, it's def a thing though.


	4. Crossed Paths (p4)

Evelin is based on me at 11 years old, her journey will differ from mine however as the story progresses, but the reason she's like weirdly word savvy is because I was a walking dictionary at that age.

* * *

4\. Act I: Crossed paths (part 4)

They share classes with each one of the other three houses, but rarely are they allowed to sit with them. Their charms professor, however, thinks this is bullshit; like, the man uses that exact word, Evelin is a little unsettled.

Still, this is how she meets the fool with the prettiest eyes ever, they're light crystal blue and bright with mischief, contrasting loudly against bronze skin and thick brown eyebrows, she's close enough to notice a small freckle right beneath the right one. His name is Luka Redland, he's from Wampus - and that is a ridiculous word for what sounds like a mighty creature - so the dark grey and magenta of his uniform only really helps the image of pretty boy; that is until he opens his mouth.

Evelin's only saving grace is that Luka isn't dumb in the mean sense, but rather has good intentions but terrible decisions; suffice to say she's both infatuated and concerned for her own mental sanity in spades.

She's particularly irritated with him this very second though, as she tries to concentrate on her book about herbology, wanting to get an edge over her usual table partner after they offended Rosalinda; but he keeps groaning at his homework. Eventually, Evelin lets out a long sigh, closes her book and levels him with an unimpressed look.

"What are you doing?"

Luka, to his credit, keeps all groaning within reasonable volume for the library; Evelin would be impressed if she wasn't so annoyed. He also doesn't lift his eyes from the paper he's been staring at when answering her.

"Chemistry"

Evelin blinks at him.

"I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to call it that"

This causes him to finally look up, and Evelin thinks that whatever gave him the right to have such pretty eyes was obviously working against her. They maintain eye contact in silence for what feels like an hour but was probably only a minute or two, before Luka's entire being shakes as he clearly tries to stifle a laugh; Evelin chances a small smile while he isn't looking before schooling her expression and gently pulling the paper away from him.

He has very crisp letter, the kind that loops perfectly each time, Evelin is high-key jealous, and then she actually reads what's written.

"Who do you have for potions?"

"Professor Kytirnos why?"

"That's weird, she explained this differently when we had her"

He brushes a hand though short brown hair, looking a little unsure.

"I may or may not have missed the first part of the lesson because I got trapped in a door loop and had to borrow it from someone"

Evelin starts giggling because she doesn't know how else to respond to such a sentence, because of course Luka managed to anger the gatesprites. Finally, she manages to calm herself down, and adjusts her ponytail, before she starts explaining the potion the way the teacher had; and Luka sits there and listens quietly until she's done, because of course he does.

"That makes so much more sense"

Evelin smiles and goes back to her plant book, as Luka sets of to finally do his homework, now with less groaning involved. When he's done, he all but shoots from his seat, stopping only to smile brightly at her.

"Thanks for the help Peterson"

And Evelin is left to ponder on the words 'you're welcome' for she doesn't get to say them soon enough, and he's gone from the library. Eventually, Evelin leaves as well, far too distracted to get any actual learning done; she'll just have to find a different way to get back at the guy who made her friend feel bad.

{+}

Classes have been going more or less like Scott expected, and it sucks that Liam and him only share two subjects, and aren't allowed to sit together in either; his friend still manages to find him on the way to the next class or during free time/recess, they still haven't decided what to call it actually. Liam seems to enjoy learning magic, always bright eyed at every subject, even magical history, which was a hard pill to swallow as far as Scott was concerned.

They are making their way to the outdoors area, when Liam stops his rambling about charms and how wrist position affected them suddenly but not jarringly; his eyes are set on something high up, and as it approaches it's followed by a clear high-pitched woot. Jet black hair and the hint of his house colors are what first registers as the figure flies by them wind following like a whip, and Scott swears he hears Liam's breath catch.

The figure stops a few steps away, climbing from the broom they just used, wide grin splitting porcelain pale skin. Scott sort of recognizes her as the girl he saw with the arliuz on the first day, long hair tied in a tight ponytail; her friend notices them and waves them over, so Scott grabs a hold of Liam's arm and drags him to them.

As they make it to where they are, one of the students clearly from a higher grade steps up and grabs the broom from the arliuz-girl, which she seems perfectly ok with.

"I gotta go to practice, but I'll let you fly again after lunch"

The brunet smiles at him brightly.

"Thanks, oh, and good luck Dallas"

The arliuz girl gives a thumbs up and a comical monotone.

"Obliterate them"

The guy, Dallas apparently, returns the thumbs up before hurrying away; Scott doesn't know how to feel. There are two sets of eyes on him, one is curious but with a hint of recognition that he expected given the girls are in his house; the other is sharp and cautious, and when he looks back he meets with a storm encased by black hair and pale skin.

"You're really good at flying"

Scott is very grateful for Liam because the eyes leave to focus on him instead, though there's a part of him worried about his comment backfiring because Liam most definitely knows nothing about brooms. Thankfully, both girls smile before exchanging a look with each other.

"It's actually our first time, Dallas wouldn't let us far from the ground"

Scott is maybe a little impressed, so he does the only logical thing he can think of.

"I don't think I know your names"

The brunette nodded with a serious expression, like of course this was a matter to be immediately remedied.

"I'm Rosalinda Wellings"

Scott could feel his friend beaming at his side.

"I'm Liam Parsley"

A subtle tug of lips that could maybe be called a smile.

"Evelin Peterson"

And finally it was his turn.

"Scott Crowner"


	5. Sibling Dynamic (p1)

In which I pretend the US school system works timelines the same way as the Argentinean one and no one can stop me.

Main gang is either 12 or approaching 12; try to guess everyone's birth-month (sans Evelin, I give that one right away).

* * *

5\. Act II: Sibling dynamic (part 1)

According to Evelin, June was a weird time to be born, because it meant she was older than most of their class, sans Rosalinda who was from February; Scott mostly wondered if the fact that she had been born on a festive day had any weight on why the arliuz chose her.

Scott has seen the bird casually sitting on her head on more than one occasion, and even flying at her side when she practices with the broom; since her mom's a nomag she can't really practice at home.

"What about your dad?"

"Mom says he's an auror, which I figured was a nice way of saying he's six feet under"

"Actually it means he's part of the magic police"

They all jumped at the new voice, and looked to the newcomer, Rosalinda grinned while Evelin sank down just slightly into her seat.

"Hi Luka, come join us"

Liam snorted at Scott's right.

"That sounds so ominous, like, come join the dark side"

All four laugh without Scott, so he figures it's a nomag thing; he's been trying to get in contact with that part of the world, with the help of all three of his friends. The new boy, Luka if Rosalinda was to be trusted, and Scott wanted to believe she was; wore the signature colors for Wampus, which meant all they needed was someone from Pukwudgie to complete the set.

"So, how's a police like an auror"

Three out of five people in the table look at Scott weird, while Liam smiles like he finds this entertaining, and most probably does.

"Scott is a full on magic boy, uhm, pureblooded I think is the proper term for it, he's got zero common knowledge"

Evelin's eyes go wide before she slowly lays her forehead on the table.

"Everything makes sense"

Rosalinda nods sagely, while Scott kinda just holds his head.

"We've been friends for nearly a year"

{+}

Eventually, Luka admits he was looking for Evelin because she had helped him a lot last year and he wanted to ask to keep studying together; this made Evelin blush but she agreed with a very pleased smile. Then Scott finally asked what they meant with the dark side, worried it was somehow related to the dark lord, they spent the rest of their free time discussing 'magic wars' vs 'Star Wars'.

It's in the middle of their attempts at explaining movies to someone who sort of gets it but also really doesn't, that they are joined by one of the new students. She stands quietly behind Scott, staring intently at the back of his head, until he finally notices and all but jumps from his seat.

"Jesus Zara, what do you want?"

There's a moment of silent before the girl, Zara apparently, blinks and makes a face as she whispers.

"I forgot"

Before promptly leaving, blonde hair swishing behind her in a pristine braid. Luka turns back to them only to slump into the table unceremoniously.

"That's just gonna bother me all day"

There's a beat of silence before Rosalinda speaks up.

"Are we still allowed to pray here, or?"

This seems to shake Evelin out of whatever it was she had been doing while looking at nothing, as she huffed humorously.

"That sounds so dramatic Roz"

{~}

"She kind of zooned out after Luka's sister showed up"

Rosalinda nods sagely, focus clearly still in measuring things, Liam is very much impressed.

"Eve does that sometimes, she says it's her brain speeding up without her consent"

Liam frowns, then helps Rosalinda pouring the ingredients into the cauldron without getting burned.

"Those are big words"

Rosalinda nods again.

"She has a therapist"

Liam supposes that makes sense, the potion starts changing color so he moves to lower the temperature while Rosalinda stirs.

"I'm still worried about her"

He doesn't need to look at Rosalinda to know she's smiling ruefully, it's her favorite kind of smile, but he has to anyway because she's in his field of vision; she doesn't even lift her eyes from the now color settled potion, dutifully stirring counterclockwise.

"That's why we keep you around"

Liam scoffs, grinding the cheese-structured beetroot-shaped thingy into the pot when the neon blue liquid starts bubbling.

"I thought y'all found me funny"

Rosalinda does look up then, rueful smile still very much present and her clearly amused eyes only serve as addition.

"That too"


	6. Sibling Dynamic (p2)

6\. Act II: Sibling dynamic (part 2)

"Ok, so, quidditch try-outs"

"Not gonna happen"

"Eve come on"

She stops, whirls around and glares up at him.

"Not, going, to, happen"

She stomps off, and Rosalinda makes sure to shoulder-bump the guy as she hurries to walk with her. It's not the first time she's seen this happen, and she's grown increasingly curious each time; well, her and the boys.

"Who was that upperclassman?"

"Frederick Warren, captain for the quidditch team"

"I'm gonna guess that's a sport of some sort"

Evelin snorts at that, whole head bowing as she does, she turns to Rosalinda with a laugh-laced smile.

"You're the best"

{+}

"Wait, the captain of the team asked, and you're still not gonna join?"

Evelin rolls her eyes at him, working on cutting the piece of meat in her plate.

"He only wants me there because there aren't any girls in the team"

"Still"

"Can I please be reminded what quidditch is?"

They both jump in their seat.

"Li I don't think you're allowed in our table"

"Don't worry, I have a plus 3 to charisma"

Rosalinda puts her glass down.

"Since when do we have stats?"

Scott sighs clearly bothered by being out of the loop.

"Quidditch is the most popular magic sport, it's-"

"Flying handball with the added bonus of hunting and the probability of death by anger balls"

Scott's whole was frowns as Evelin interrupts him.

"Anger balls?"

"Bludgers"

A familiarly melodic cooing fills the room and as they turn to look the see Azul fly down into Evelin's quickly outstretched arm, the arliuz holds an envelope in her beak; people resume eating. Evelin carefully takes the envelope from her pet, placing it down on the table before going to fix a few feathers.

"Thank you Azul"

The bird coos again, leaning into her master's hands for a moment before shuffling away and flying off.

"That looks like a wax seal"

"Ooh, classy"

"Who's it from?"

Evelin blinks at the three of them and then lets out an amused huff, she pulls out her switchblade from her pocket, opening it with a flurry, and cuts the letter open, pulling out the contents before putting her knife back in place.

"Oh, it's from my sister"

"Jackeline?"

"It's not in English"

"So we're gonna ignore Ev having a weapon, ok"

"Scott"

"What? It's a genuine concern"

"Not that you dumdum, the language is called Scott"

"You're Scottish?"

"I'm actually a descendant or something, I was born and raised in USA though"

{^}

"So… eyes like a winter storm huh?"

Luka stares daggers into his book, very glad this is happening in the common room and not a public space.

"I mean; they are weirdly bluish for grey eyes, but calling them stormy seems mean"

He's also glad for his skin color because his ears feel particularly hot.

"Oh, but you did always gawk at snow storms"

He closes his book as loud as he can, springing from his seat and glaring at his sister.

"Are you done?"

Zara, menace that she is, lifts a hand to pat Luka's cheek twice.

"Not even close"

Luka groans and storms towards the dorms, knowing she won't be able to follow.


	7. Sibling Dynamic (p3)

I have this head canon that the different schools have signature colors, and since we know Hogwarts' seal was red, the other two would be blue and yellow (or gold since I don't think wax seals come in yellow); try to guess which one uses which.

* * *

7\. Act II: Sibling Dynamic (part 3)

"Hey Ev, is your sister a witch?"

Evelin opens her mouth, eyebrows knit together, but then her expression falters with a jolt and she puts her fingers together making a diamond shape with her hands.

"Scotty, I'd help you hide a body no questions asked, but for the love of everything holy please stop using 'witch'"

"Sorceress?"

She makes a sharp nod, hands at her hips.

"Better"

Scott, sighs and decides to go for a different angle.

"I thought I recognized the seal in your letter as the coat of arms of one of the magic schools, so I figured I'd ask"

Evelin goes to say something before stopping herself again, this time to hum and put a hand to her chin.

"Actually, that would make way too much sense"

After saying this she pulls out a carefully folded envelope from her non-knife pocket; and Scott is still reeling over her owning and carrying around a knife. The seal is imprinted into blue colored wax, and Scott lets himself wonder for a moment just who Evelin's sister is that she's allowed to use this design.

{*}

"So my sister is magic"

The other two look at each other.

"Jaquelin?"

Evelin drops into a chair beside her.

"Unlike you Roz, I only have the one sibling"

Rosalinda pokes her tongue out while Liam writes something on his parchment.

"Man I wish I had siblings"

There's a sound of a chair being pulled out.

"You really don't"

Evelin and Rosalinda both look up at him.

"Hi Luka"

"What's Liam doing"

Rosalinda glances at him.

"Multitasking"

Liam frowns at his parchment.

"How do you spell hiccupping again?"

"Two 'c's and two 'p's"

"Thank you Evelin"

Luka groans.

"I forgot the potions homework"

Evelin shifts in her seat, Rosalinda smiles in amusement.

"I can always help you if you need"

Rosalinda laughs then, placing an arm around Evelin, who huffs at her.

"Ev is the best in the class, pretty sure Professor Kytirnos has her on a favorite students list"

"Shut up, that's so weird"

{+}

"Why are Liam and Luka playing magic chess"

"Ev promised to tutor both but Professor Smith wanted her help with the flying class this year so she can only do one"

"Doesn't Professor smith usually use the quidditch players for that?"

"She does, but with the cup being moved due to the upcoming magic bugs, no one is free"

Scott looks at the board and the lack of broken pieces.

"Do they know how chess works?"

Rosalinda shakes her head.

"They do not, and thus it is fair"

Scott thinks it's stupid, but decides to focus on what he actually came for.

"Roz, you're of no-mag roots, should I be worried if Ev said she help me hide a body should I ask her to?"

Rosalinda looks at him for a moment, before patting his shoulder with a sage look.

"You've been upgraded to best friend status"

Scott feels himself relax a little, he also feels kind of happy.

"That's cool"


	8. Sibling Dynamic (p4)

Sometimes it really be like that

* * *

8\. Act II: Sibling Dynamic (part 4)

_Hey Evie_

_Sorry about the lack of communication, I've found myself incredibly busy studying for exams, but I heard you were doing your second year in a new school, so I figured it was due time. Have you made friends? Are you keeping up with homework? _

_We'll have to meet up soon so you can tell me about it. _

_JCP_

{#}

"Second names are outdated and unnecessary really"

Zara shifts in her chair, moving away from the older girl. Scott blinks along the other two boys at the tone.

"Roz can actually get mad"

Evelin sighs and looks at the others.

"She dislikes her middle name, even though it's much prettier than mine"

Liam takes a bite of a loaf of bread, Scott has stopped trying to figure out where he gets the things.

"In my case it's the opposite"

This brings the whole table to a halting silence, broken a few beats later by Evelin, who rests her chin on her left palm.

"What's your first name then?"

"Dominic"

Evelin lifts her head up in order to nod sagely.

"Very Christian"

Luka leans back into his chair.

"I feel like we should do a round of full names"

Evelin immediately smiles, figure all bout springing into a more chipper posture.

"Aye!"

Scott blinks at her fore glancing around the table.

"Um, aye?"

Zara smiles lifting her arm up enthusiastically.

"Aye!"

Luka rolls his eyes at her but lifts his hand slightly.

"Aye"

Liam makes a face like he fears a repercussion, glancing from Evelin to Rosalinda as though he's trapped.

"A-aye"

Evelin lifts her fists up in victory, Rosalinda slumps into the table.

"I have been betrayed"

Scott clears his throat.

"So, um, any order in particular?"

Zara claps her hands and swishes in her chair.

"I'm Zara Redland, no other names"

"Luka Redland"

He glances at Liam who sighs.

"Dominic Liam Parsley"

He then turns to Scott.

"Scott Crowner"

There's a loud groan muffled by the table before Rosalinda lifts her head just enough to be understood.

"Rosalinda Marie Wellings"

Evelin smiles like she has them all beat, and knowing her she most certainly does.

"Evelin Dorotea Peterson"

Rosalinda makes an entire series of expression before covering her face with both hands.

"Why is your middle name in Spanish?"

Evelin looks up towards the roof.

"I don't know"


	9. Egocentrism (p1)

This is where Evelin's path will divide from my own, not so much in content, but rather in timing and success. This act will mark the start of a character arc filled with identity related issues, as well as the mental toll they imply, so please proceed with care and be warned that I'll tolerate no hate on it (you can spit on my work, but I will not let you walk over Me)

* * *

9\. Act III: Egocentrism (Part 1)

The Peterson household consists of a spacious one story house with warmly colored walls and smooth roofs, the entrance is simple, a small garage at the side. The inside is furnished with well-loved and well used furniture sharing space with newer stuff, a mismatch of old and new that somehow works.

But the treasure of the household is its backyard, flush with green life common to the area, if Evelin's grandmother is to be believed, and Scott is inclined to do just that. Evelin's grandmother is a big woman, not only in size - towering over almost every other adult they've met in their time here - but also in presence; her hair is a mesh of ebony black and silver, and her eyes are the most startling blue.

Evelin's mother, on the other hand, is slim with porcelain skin and fire-like hair, eyes an impossible light green; she's small, smaller than Evelin who's hit her very first growth spurt, but the two are almost mirror images. Evelin makes this similarity sound like an amazing feature, but Scott can tell she despises it with every fiber of her being.

There's a delicate balance to reading her, one Scott has learned through trial and error these last two years, but still there's something hidden, something kept under such tight lock and key Scott wonders if Evelin herself knows what it is. He worries about it, the way he worries about a long list of things concerning his best friend, but he causes her just as much worry, so he supposes it's only fair.

The good thing about the Peterson household is that it's tucked away from view, away from other muggles. It's not actually Evelin's home, that's in a middle class part of Erie, but it's her mother's birth home, and thus deserves the name.

Having invited the whole group, Evelin has made it her goal to show them everything there is to do around the house and the town that waits about 2 kilometers away. Evelin told plenty of anecdotes and fun facts every time they had to make the trip down the road.

Liam eventually roped them into playing some dungeons and dragons, apparently well equipped for such plans, and since both Rosalinda and Evelin were sold from the beginning - and Scott was curious about the game that gave his friend so much knowledge on magical creatures -, Luka had no hope of getting out of it. It was a wild and very chaotic experience but they had fun, and learned a lot about each other.

{+}

It's a few days before Evelin's birthday that she pulls Scott aside, having sent everyone on fetch-quests that would entertain them for a bit. She guides him back to the room and pulls out a spiral notebook from her case - by now Scott had been fed enough knowledge on the nomag world by his friends to recognize the cover was some anime related thing - and offered it to him.

Inside the notebook are a list after list of ingredient combinations, their reactions to each other, some erased in a hurry, some scratched out, some under dark splotches of what had most definitely been water. There were also various methods of stirring, and adding ingredients, some more practical than others.

"Are you experimenting with potions?"

Evelin puts a hand in the back of her head.

"Kind off, there weren't any existing potions for what I wanted so I figured I'd improvise"

Scott looks up at her from the very much used notebook.

"Explain"

Evelin gets this gleam in her eyes and her hands start moving with her words, a clear sign she's invested.

"I didn't want to be someone else but rather alter my own appearance, so I used a polyjuice potion recipe as a base and went from there, first trying to deal with the duration and taking out the second party issue"

She pointed to the notebook.

"Then I encountered a problem with volatile reactions in certain components, so I branched out to other ones"

Scott clicks his tongue.

"I can see your process, but why were you trying to change your appearance?"

Here Evelin sighs, whole body sagging, then starts pacing around the room.

"Ok, so most of my knowledge comes from internet because in order to find direct founts means telling people, and telling people could get me dead"

"What?"

"Hatred is a terrifying thing"

She makes a sharp turn, all but glaring at him, then goes back to her pacing.

"The thing is some people feel like they're trapped in the wrong body, so much so that they feel resentment towards it, and nothing anyone says will change that"

"I'm sensing a but there"

"But this? This could help them, or at least the magical portion of them, this could let their bodies reflect who they are, it could-"

She bites her lip, looking away; and Scott had never seen her look shameful, and he decides in that split second that he doesn't want to see it ever again.

"Is Ev still ok with you?"

She whirls to him, and there's something so fragile, so raw in her expression, that Scott knows he said the right thing.

"I guess, for now, it's neutral enough"

Scott smiles and flails the notebook purposely.

"Now tell me how to help out with your science shtick"

The smile Evelin gets is so bright it could probably be used as a light source.


	10. Egocentrism (p2)

10\. Act III: Egocentrism (part 2)

"So, have you made it work yet?"

There's a long groan, and raising of heads with choppily cut curly hair, pale skin turned nearly transparent, and exhausted grey eyes; and Scott notices with a start that there's a bluish tint to them. His best friend is surrounded by materials and paper, a coarse whisper of 'Eric, please call me Eric", and something so uncharacteristically raw that Scott doesn't dare even thinking of complaining.

The others had been a little awkward, clearly unsure how to deal with the situation, but otherwise supportive; and Scott got it, he did, but he also wanted to shake them by the shoulders and scream at them that nothing had changed, that Eric was the same person they'd known since 11.

They're huddled in one of the few empty classrooms usable for this sort of thing, having been given the go ahead by professor Kytirnos to utilize their free hour like this; Eric has also been allowed to borrow any potion related material from the library, so when he isn't here mixing things with only a minor protective charm as a failsafe, he's curled under a window in the library face all but buried in book.

Eric's take to wearing the male uniform, and though their house colors have always made his pale skin noticeable, he looks nearly vampiric now; though that most likely has to do with how little he's been outside.

"You should join the team this year"

Scott is prepared for the look of confusion and frustration, knowing fully it's been a bit since 'frustration' hasn't described his best friend; so he makes his point before Eric can get talking.

"You keep making physical changes to maybe help the potion work better, so I figured building muscle was a good idea"

Eric bites his lip, dry enough to be noticeable from afar, and looks away.

"It doesn't have to be quidditch though, you can like, do some muggle muscle related thing(ie)"

This makes Eric snort, and then comes the voice, rough and dry, and practiced-ly lower pitched than it should be.

"I'm a terrible influence"

Scott scoffs.

"Don't corner me to get away from the sunlight"

Eric starts full on laughing then, and any pretense of anger is drained out of Scott, because he realizes how long it's been since he last heard that sound.

{-}

He had known for the longest while that Angela Yailaor was nothing but bad news; sure the older girl had acted as his introductory to the magic world, but her mask had slipped too quickly, too carelessly.

Eric did not elude himself into thinking he was completely honest, actually he considered perhaps having a small penchant for it, a silver tongue so to speak. He wouldn't say he had a distaste for liars, in the mouth of someone skilled lying could be quite the art form; so it wasn't the lie that bothered him, not really.

What bothered Eric the most was that Angela was an unrepentant asshole, and that was never a good thing.

Azul had been the first proof of this, born as an honest to god familiar, the avian fae had to fight beak and claw to not be taken by the wrong magic user; when Eric arrived at the store the clerk had been close to simply getting rid of the bird, so to save herself more trouble. Any pretense of the older girl being unaware of what the arliuz was and what fate awaited them had Eric not gotten there on time shattered very closely to his discovery of himself.

The second proof, the one that had made Eric dislike the other fairly until he found out about the first, was her clear distaste for the non-magical, something she didn't deem shame worthy; after all those with magic were so much better, why should she be ashamed? And why shouldn't the no-mag born not bow their heads in reverence to what they've been given?

And so proof number three was only bound to show itself, dressed in the indigo and ochre of Pukwudgie, sharing fate with Eric both in blood status and gender identification. Ivy, a cutesy nickname for the girl who shared blood with Angela, a stab at the name the younger had been given at birth, a promise between equals, and an act of revelry against a half-sibling who picked first bully.

Ivy is a charming little shit, who cares about others with burning passion, but would not let anything push her down; Eric has sort of taken her under his wing, and absolutely encourages her to 'do no harm but take no shit'. He's extremely fond of her, a sense of probably misplaced pride every time he sees her in the girl uniform with her miss-matched group of friends.

They've talked about a lot, safe in a corner of the library, bathed in far-off sunlight, waiting for their romantic leanings to change, or maybe they won't, maybe they don't have to. It's been a domino effect in that regard, because if their concept of self could be different from the one the world has settled for them, why should anything else be different?

Eric despises Angela and aches for Ivy who has to deal with her, Eric sort of adores Ivy and owes it to the younger girl to get the potion right. So he sighs as he scratches out another set of ingredients and proceeds to the next.


	11. Egocentrism (p3)

11\. Act III: Egocentrism (part 3)

Eric looks at Zara and Ivy and can't help but draw a comparison between them as he tries to process this new development.

On the right, Zara stands tall, hands confidently at her waist, grin spread in her lips; she's tanner than Eric, though that's hardly an accomplishment, blonde hair tied into a two small ponytails, sky-blue eyes almost gleaming in her self-assurance. On the left, Ivy has her hands close together and in front of her, which gives her the look of a hunched back and helps her look smaller, tentative smile on her face; she shares the same copper colored skin as her sister, but only half of her hair can change, the eyes are fair game though and today they are an almost-blue cyan that simply stands out, the hair is the usual magenta over brown.

Standing in between the two are three figures in the colors of different houses, one has the same ones as Eric. He takes a deep breath and decides to make a question.

"What's happening?"

Zara is the one to answer, because of course she is.

"You have a potion to test, we found some volunteers"

Eric kinda wants to go scream at the void for a little, because this is a sure recipe for trouble, but he's a disaster, so instead he smiles at the three strangers.

"Welcome to the club"

To their credit, they all look pretty eager to join; Eric isn't a very religious person, but he still sends a prayer to whatever higher power may take it, that there won't be any disasters.

{*}

Rosalinda is weirdly proud that neither Liam nor Luka have changed much after the news, still very much reeling about the whole thing, but proud; being the only girl of the group sucks though, and she would not count Zara, because Zara was more something that sort of just happened. She does wonder, however, if Eric's feelings have changed any, as she's not exactly sure how the whole thing works; she understands Eric's a boy now, and that's about it.

So when he sees him with his head buried in his hands, surrounded by a gaggle of younger students, her first impression is confusion; ok, no, her first feeling is concern, but then she remembers who this is and notes the look of 'what am I doing?' in his face, so she digresses.

She ends up finding herself joining the group, learning that the three people she doesn't know yet all identify as female; and that's a concept Rosalinda still fails to fully grasp, but she tries to be supportive.

The girl in the Thunderbird colors likes the name Dakota, and she's the younger sibling of Dallas Nyquist; the girl in the Horned Serpent colors prefers Calla and uses the surname Meyers; finally, the girl who shares the Pukwudgie colors with Ivy goes by the name Anabelle Hankson. Rosalinda is curious about how they all discovered that they were girls; but the group seems more interested in talking about what dragon type would win in a wrestling match, so she doesn't get to ask.

"If we're talking about raw ability to destroy, I think the Peruvian Vipertooth would have a good chance"

They all turn to her, the table falling silent for a moment, before Eric starts nodding sagely.

"Chaos in a small package"

And just like that Rosalinda is accepted into the group.

{~}

Liam is honestly impressed the first time he sees Eric in the boys' uniform and realizes it actually fits him properly; they're half-way through the school year, but he had not expected him to get the potion right so fast. It's kind of… Liam feels like the ground has lost some stability, or maybe like it's gone upside down, or shifted; it's hard to explain, otherwise bearable.

He likes Eric, and this is a truth that knocks him off his feet and leaves him gasping for breath, it's a thought that comes to him simple and backlashes only when he stops and realizes he thought it; he's not sure how to deal with it. He particularly likes how he looks right now, little creases in the corners of his eyes, dimples on his cheeks; a cloud of giddy excitement surrounding his whole being.

"Hi Liam"

His voice is laugh laced, joy practically palpable, and it's so contagious that Liam can't help but smile back. Liam wonders if calling him pretty would upset Eric, maybe handsome instead… and why is Liam asking this? He's not gonna call Eric handsome, what if he realizes Liam likes him?

It's not that he thinks Eric would be disgusted with him, maybe simply uninterested at worst, but Liam would like to make sense of his feelings in full before he allows anyone to know about them; particularly the person those feelings are for.


	12. Egocentrism (p4)

12\. Act III: Egocentrism (part 4)

Luka was a little winded after the whole Eric thing, he supposed there were probably many people who would've dealt with such a drastic change differently, but he had mostly been dealing with trying to make sense of his feelings. Luka had to stop for a second and ask himself the question of whether he'd be able to say his feelings remained unchanged, or if he would only get closer in hopes of getting the real subject of his affections back; maybe it made him a bad person, but he ended up deciding he didn't want that kind of relationship with Eric anymore.

Did it? Luka wasn't sure anymore, he knew his sister was helping Erick with the potion, it didn't bother him, and he wasn't about to tell her to get away from him; it wasn't like he hated Eric. It was just that Eric was a boy, just like him, and that changed things; he still wanted to keep the other's friendship, because Eric was great as a friend, but he couldn't see himself dating Eric.

Not like it really matters, the only person who knew was Zara, and she's not even teasing Luka anymore; probably because now she has other people to use her time on. There's also the fact that, aside from the potion side project, all five of them had become very busy with school this year, as they were finally allowed to take electives.

Luka had opted for arithmancy, because it was the only one related to math, and that meant small class numbers; he knew Rosalinda had taken divination, Scott opted for muggle studies, and both Liam and Eric had taken rune studies. It kept them separate for a good majority of the day, and though Luka knew perfectly well where to find Eric at any other point, he had yet to approach the other.

He wanted to wait until he could explain his feelings properly, find a way to tell Eric about it without hurting the other or coming off as offensive. After all, Luka still wanted to be his friend, the whole crush thing was a separate matter… right?

{&}

Ivy is kind of reeling, as she comes to the realization that she's got people in her corner; it's a weird realization, because it makes her come to terms with the fact that she had felt lonely.

She had never given it much though before, that she hadn't made any friends during her first year here; but now that she has a small army of them, it puts things in perspective. Anabelle, Calla, Dakota, and Zara are all wonderful; and Eric has practically adopted her as a sister, and helping her look the way she feels.

It means she has people to share class seats with, to exchange homework and tips, stories and theories, to make jokes and convoluted handshakes; it's weird, they're weird, Ivy wouldn't change them for the world.

She learns a lot of stuff about the group: Zara thinks girls are the prettiest thing to be created, she likes playing with hair and, if you allow her, fingers; Anabelle has a sharp eye for makeup and nails, but she also draws the world in charcoal; Calla has the prettiest singing voice, and she had worried it would get ruined with the potion, but it's only become just that tad bit sweeter; Dakota is an avid quidditch fan and player, spouting facts like she can't quite help herself. And then there's Eric, Eric who has the patience of a saint, who takes them all in stride, never raising his voice unless they're being too loud, who takes the time to make sure each of them feels comfortable in their new skins.

The potion was still being worked on, as Eric wanted it to effectively change them, to make it so they would only need to drink it once; Ivy and her friends were helping with everything they could, and Ivy knew Eric's own friends were doing their part as well.

Ivy only really knows two of them, Scott who will drag Eric out of the potion room for food and sunlight, and Rosalinda, who doesn't really get things but tries to be supportive regardless. She knows Eric is also friends with Zara's older brother Luka, as well as a boy named Liam who Eric talked softly about, almost like they were somewhere distant, out of his reach.

Whatever problem they had, Ivy hoped it would get solved with a good outcome, because it was clear that Eric cared a lot about them, and it would hurt him to lose them no matter the cause. Ivy knew this, because she had already lost someone she had cared so deeply about, and that loss weighted heavily on her still, and it most likely would weight on her forever even if its edge dulled with time.


	13. On new scales (p1)

13\. Act IV: On new scales (part 1)

It takes a little less than five words to utterly destroy a person, spoken with a tug on the lips, a slight crease between the eyebrows, and an honest tone; Ivy knows because she watches as Eric does this like it's second nature, almost like he doesn't realize the weight of his words. Ivy's sister, who does not get to be referred to by name, has stopped functioning.

Anabelle tells Ivy she needs to work on her context giving before making statements like that, because even though the blonde admits to believing Eric is capable of destroying someone in 4 words or less, she still needs to understand how those words affect the person in question. Ivy would fight her on this, but it's one of those rare times where both Calla and Dakota have taken Anabelle's side, so she abstains at the rarity of all three of them agreeing on something; Zara seems just as impressed.

So, it actually starts with Scott Crowner, who is not only Eric's best friend, but also a literal angel, which is one of two things all six of them have agreed on; Ivy emphasizes the 6 there, because even Eric is involved in this one. Scott, local wonder boy that he is, has a bit of a hard time getting nomag things, and has been trying to learn more about them pretty much since first befriending Eric; Ivy can't judge, because she's been doing the same thing, it's weird being surrounded by nomag-born and half-bloods.

They're in the waiting area for the cable-cars, Eric chatting amicably with Dakota's older brother, Dallas if memory serves, about maybe finally joining the quidditch team this year, considering the old captain has left school; Dallas is trying to speak to Eric's competitive side, while Scott is appealing to the idea in the most 'I told you so' tone ever. Ivy only learns about this later from Dakota, as she only gets there for the tail end of the conversation.

"I'd need to take time to train before team trials"

Ivy's sister, who does dirty by the beautiful name she's been given, just has to open her mouth.

"I can't imagine not being able to fly, but then again I don't have to"

Eric rolls his eyes, ready to ignore him as the mature person he is, but she presses forward unbidden in that same twisted tone she uses when actually gendering Ivy properly, like she expects her to be hurt by it.

"I'll never experience anything non-magical"

And that's when it happens.

"What a sad existence"

{^}

There's a pause, the table falling silent as the words register, Eric shifts in his seat like he wants to be anywhere else, Rosalinda gets a smile that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.

"You did not"

Eric tilts his head to the left, looking pained.

"No, I really did"

Everyone else, sans Ivy, Dakota, and Scott who were all there, is in different states of amazement and amusement; Liam makes a face.

"I wish I'd been there to film it"

This brings Eric back from his embarrassment, as he hits the side of his fists softly against the table.

"You know what we should actually do if we could get electronics to work in here?"

Liam leans back on his chair with an amused grin.

"Movie marathon?"

The way Eric's face shifts at those words is a revelation, but then his eyes are shining, and his lips are pulled into a wild grin.

"Movie fucking marathon"

Liam's face shifts too, and oh… so that's why, Luka had known in the back of his head that Liam had a crush on Eric from the very beginning, that unlike Luka's case, his feeling remained and perhaps even grew stronger; but now Luka realized it was a two-way street.

Scott probably knew, as both boys were his close friends, Rosalinda was a maybe, and the girl group was a little less clear; he wondered what they all made of it. Luka himself? He…

Eric still had those barely bluish startling grey eyes that Luka had been so magnetized towards, eyes that held a melancholy and sharpness he wanted the context on; but things had changed, and Luka no longer longed for those eyes to prioritize him, to be allowed into their depths, or at least not the way he had back then.

Liam was different, too smart for his own good, unapologetically bright, non-judgmental, patient beyond belief with both Scott and Luka in their lack of knowledge and their flurry of questions. After Scott, he'd been the readiest to accept Eric, to quickly change pronouns and nicknames and everything else.

They made sense, and if they actually did end up together, Luka would encourage it; they both deserved to be happy, and chances were, they would find that happiness together.


	14. On new scales (p2)

I don't actually speak Scotts on the account that I am Argentinean, so I put it in italics so you know Eric's speaking his first language.

* * *

14\. Act IV: On new scales (part 2)

Azul is restless which is saying something, because normally the arliuz seems to forget that she is actually a fae, and not just a random bird; not that Eric can say anything really, if he had the ability to do nothing without repercussion he too would exploit it to the point of forgetting secondary magic powers.

Scott, who's Eric new roommate after his last potion attempt finally took, watches as Eric tries to get some reasoning done, his own magical bird sitting calmly besides him on a perch. They are in the aviary, because the keeper has requested Eric calm his arliuz, which is understandable really, and Scott because apparently he was in charge of keeping tabs on Eric, which is also understandable.

"Do you think they'd let me keep her in our room if only to restore the peace to the aviary?"

Scott hums loudly, Azul almost causes another pen to collapse with her singing.

"I don't think they would stop you"

Eric nods at that, then turns back to his oldest friend and opens his mouth, only he speaks in Scotts because he's learned she actually listens to him when he does that, unlike with English, which she ignores with a scorn similar to the Latin professor every time Rosalinda slips into Spanish; Eric is not Rosalinda, so he abides to his pet's weird language requirements.

"_If you don't tell me what upset you I can't help_"

Azul finally calms down, flying to Eric and burring her head in his shoulder with a soft chirp, Eric runs his fingers against her back softly, right between her wings. His lungs are suddenly filled with sharply fresh air, and the world has changed.

Instead of the concrete and wood of the aviary, Eric finds still wet grass, impressive pines, and what looks like a mountain range in the distance, but before that there's a lake; floating above said lake, curled in the thin air as though there were an invisible platform beneath it, lays the largest snake he's ever seen. The creature, is wide like a river, scales shimmering under a sun that is not there, familiar in their blues and greens, and when it lifts its head it stares Eric down with bright wise impossibly blue eyes, surrounded by small shining gold scales, and crowned by equally shiny golden horns.

Coming back to reality feels a little like getting the ground pulled from under his feet, only he's kneeling, and Scott has both arms around him, keeping him in place. He does not know what the vision meant, but he was left unsettled and wary; and he understands Azul's unrest.

"Something's coming"

{~}

The room is quiet, everyone looking at Dakota and Eric as they sit facing each other, glass ball between them. Azul is perched on a nearby chair, overseeing this, which is unsettling to say the least.

Dakota all but shakes in her chair, pale as a sheet, yet somehow still a dark contrast to Eric's marble like skin. Liam watches entranced as Eric takes her hands on his, soft smile on his lips, soothing look in his eyes; still there's an unwavering trust there as well, unshakable and breathtaking

"Don't stress Kota, I'll take anything you can give me"

There's something raw to Dakota's face when those words are said, and if she falls for Eric right then and there Liam can't blame her; not when he's precipitating himself. Eric squeezes her hands again and lets go as she takes a deep breath, unraveling in front of them all, and lifting her hands to the glass ball with a flurry.

The next part is kind of terrifying, the glass ball starts glowing, and Dakota is barely recognizable despite not having changed at all. The voice that comes out of her mouth is distorted, but her words are clear.

**Your colors given by fate, yet you chose their meaning, two who collided will do so again, and ashes will rise from their clash**

{#}

"So, let's look at what we have"

In moments like this it's easy to remember Camelia shares house with Scott, Rosalinda, and Eric; she's very methodical, having written down the prophecy into paper despite the glass ball being intact and swirling. Eric is the only one who can actually touch the thing now, and he keeps it floating at his side with a charm; partly because he's understandably afraid of breaking it, mostly because he simply can.

Zara feels both fondness and anger in spades at this scene; which is a common occurrence when dealing with one Eric Peterson. She pushes those thoughts aside easily enough before focusing on what is being discussed.

Apparently, Eric's dream about the horned serpent is a clue as to who the other person in the prophecy is. Not that it's hard to guess, what with the whole 'two who collided will do so again'; it's not No-mag studies.

The part about the ashes is a little concerning, sure, but Zara would bet anything Eric will be the one controlling the flames. Granted, with Azul being so altered, it makes sense to play it safe.


	15. On new scales (p3)

15\. Act IV: On new scales (part 3)

"What if it is someone else?"

"Have you been colliding with people without telling us?"

"I've become the pseudo brother of four teenage girls, of course I have"

"I'll give him that one, Zara gets in so much trouble"

"Yeah, no, Eric wins this, sorry Scott, younger siblings are a whole thing"

"I'm a younger sibling"

He looks actually offended, Eric gives him an apologetic grin.

"Maybe, but not ours"

Rosalinda and Luka chorus an 'aye', while Liam snorts behind his hand, eyes crinkling adorably.

"The thing is, it might not be Angela, and it may not happen this year"

Liam's very soft orange hair bounces as he nods his agreement, which, how is that fair?

"Prophecies are weird like that"

And he's never paid attention, but Liam has freckles, like, they're right there, all over his face and parts of his neck; he has freckles and Eric is suffering. Scott, unaware of Eric's epiphany, simply sighs in apparent defeat.

"I'm still unconvinced"

Eric nods then, noting the tone in his best friend's voice, small grateful smile turning his lips.

"I'll be careful"

{%}

Anabelle watches as Ivy paces in their shared room, muttering something under her breath; Clover, Ivy's pet collared lizard, has his tiny feet on top of Ivy's wand, which has been left on her bed for safety. They were studying for their exams, despite Ivy's desire to help Eric and his friends figure out the whole prophecy thing, but she's doing not so good in DADA; thus how Anabelle managed to convince the idiot to actually study.

Eric, who somehow manages to make time to check on all of them despite all the mess, has slipped her a few thumbs up every time they cross paths in the library; so she feels pretty proud of herself, no lie. Which is why she found herself trying to corral all of the girls into the library that afternoon, knowing Eric would want to use the potion room to discuss things with his friends, and being aware of her own friends' grades.

It was easier said than done, considering how wired they all had been the past few weeks, but then Zara, beautifully lovely Zara, mentioned worrying about school would be a good distraction for Dakota, while benefiting all of them. Everyone agreed to Anabelle's little study session pretty quickly after that, and she felt like swooning, just a bit, so it was inconsequential, really.

{¬}

Silas wondered what it said about him, that he was willing to low-key stalk someone only because a cute boy asked; granted, Dallas had an actually pretty convincing reason to why he wanted someone to keep a constant eye on the older Yailaor.

Silas saw both Ivy and Anabelle hanging out with their friends on passing, and had seen them on the common room; they always looked like your regular group of friends. So when he saw the way they acted around Angela, the difference was so jarring that every red flag in his head popped up at once.

He liked to remind himself of that moment as a way to justify what he was doing, ignoring who he'd been asked by; so what if he had a crush on Dallas since he looked at his mismatched eyes for the first time? That had nothing to do with this.

Besides, it wasn't like Dallas had been the only one to be there when Silas had been given this request. No, the other person there was Eric Peterson, who herded Ivy's little group with a patience unlike anything Silas had ever seen; since Eric couldn't be there for either Ivy or Anabelle once they crossed to the Pukwudgie living area, he reached out to people who could.

Beatrice gives him a look, thin black eyebrow arched perfectly, and Silas hates her more for the ability to do that, than he does for her calling him on his bullshit. Like seriously, why can't he do that?


	16. On new scales (p4)

16\. Act IV: On new scales (part 4)

Dakota had always been low-key jealous of the fact that her older brother's eyes are two entirely different colors; one a similar burnt caramel to her own, the ones they inherit from their father, the other eye is a startling green. She knows she isn't the only one to feel like this, and cannot blame anyone else who shares the feeling.

So she's a little surprised when Liam finally gives a name to the odd eye situation her brother's been given; like, it's a genetic thing, not just some pretty but otherwise weird happenstance, there are others with it. It's called heterochromia, which is amusing, because that means there is some hetero to Dallas after all; she hopes he sees the humor in it too.

Liam is a surprisingly good tutor, surprisingly because he hadn't seemed like the type to know how to make others understand what he did; like, he was smart, sure, but there was a difference. He's also very obviously pinning for Eric, it's kind of ridiculous really; still cute though.

She watched them now, as Eric went into detail about the potions they had seen in class, eyes all but glowing; it's always an experience to see how passionate he is about the subject. Liam has the most besotted look ever, the other boy listening to the explanation is scribbling stuff down like a good student; it takes Dakota a whole three minutes of watching to realize that he's Zara's older brother, Luka.

To her credit, the two don't actually look related, not when apart at the very least; where Zara is golden hair and sharp sky colored eyes, Luka is winter eyes and chocolate locks. Though she guesses people wouldn't know she's Dallas' sister if they didn't tell them, but Dakota only shares the one parent with her brother, unlike Zara and Luka, so she digresses.

{-}

Liking someone is weird, in the sense that it does not work the way a crush does, as Eric has learned. He admits he had a crush on Luka, way back when, complete with the usual butterflies and lack of breath one often hears about; but what he feels for Liam is different.

It's not the rush of annoyance-worry-affection he gets from Rosalinda, who sometimes irks Eric in ways he fails to describe, but who he would trust with his life in a heartbeat; it's not the familiar amusement-endearment-care caused by Scott, who Eric would vilify himself for if asked. And it's not the now calmer admiration-complicity-giddiness he still feels about Luka, though they've talked through their emotions and found themselves no longer willing to step further.

It's the easy turn of lips at an exaggerated gesture, it's the tingling warmth of brushing fingers accidentally, it's an unshakable trust and understanding of each other; and it's feeling safe enough to lean on and lean towards the other. It's not like the friendship he has with either Scott or Rosalinda, but it's not like the crush he once had on Luka; but rather a sort of combination of both that isn't really either but something else entirely, it's stepping into the abyss hoping blindly to be caught, firmly believing that they will.

Resolving it isn't his priority right now though, as there are exams to pass, and prophecies to decipher; but he doesn't fear it, not really, and that's probably telling. So he keeps on studying, and keeps meeting up with the others to theorize, and keeps an open eye for Angela; there's not much time left for confessions.

{$}

Time is running, she'll have to wait until next year, make sure everything's ready; even if she's angry, even if she can't bear to even think about that person, she'll have to wait.

But she's nothing if not patient, particularly when she knows it'll all be worth it in the end; she will save them all from that snake if it's the last thing she does.


	17. Blue Fire (p1)

17\. Act V: Blue Fire (part 1)

It's their last year and Beatrice is dead set on solving the greatest tragedy of all time: the fact that Silas Poinsette, her best friend, and Dallas Nyquist, a good boy, are absolute disaster gays in love with each other. Because she's had 6 years of trial and error, she knows now she cannot do it alone, thus has acquired the help of Dallas' best friend; Ryker Leanza, who wears the same colors as her.

Ok, so the real reason she pulled Ryker aside and sat him down so they could settle on a plan to get their friends together, was that the two had been trying to do so separate and kept stepping into the other's plan, thus why none of those had ever worked. But with the end of school rapidly approaching, there was only so much time left.

{$}

Zelek and Levan wear matching bored expressions, not that she cares much, they're only here because she can't be everywhere at once, and they were easy enough to convince. They're not idiots, Angela cannot risk such a thing, just un-swayed by Peterson's very own brand of reasoning; they're also willing to throw a few disarming spells so Angela can face Peterson one-on-one.

She knows she holds an unfair advantage over that serpent, considering the gap in experience, but it serves _him _right for poisoning her little brother. She goes through the plan one last time, just to make sure there's no room for error; and hopes there'll be an easy way to undo all the harm that's been caused.

{¬}

Silas has been keeping an eye as requested, so he knows watching Angela and Zelek leave the common room together isn't rare; it's still very much suspicious, so he follows after, sneaking around to the best of his abilities.

They make it to one of the many empty classrooms, one that is positioned at the exact opposite end to where Eric had made his 'base', Silas casts a quick invisibility charm over himself to follow them inside. Without a cloak to be used as anchor, the charm only lasts around 20 minutes; luckily that's enough for him to get the gist of what's being discussed, so he manages to leave without being noticed.

His heart pounds against his ribcage the whole way down the hall, feet almost stumbling as he tries to reduce the distance as quickly as possible; he thinks he hears someone call his name, but does not stop, can't stop, not now that he knows the truth.

{/}

Someone watches from the sidelines, detached, uninvolved; there's plenty of people like this in every story, and they have people like that in their own stories, and so on, and so forth. Maybe they find amusement in the rushed steps Silas takes, or maybe it sparks their curiosity, as they ignore what causes them; we will never know for sure, and they will never get involved.

Keir Aronow watches as Silas runs by, then, a few moments later, watches as his house's prefect, Dallas, walks briskly in the same direction; he questions these events, as they are curious, but he thinks better to not follow after, better to not get involved. So he doesn't.


	18. Blue Fire (p2)

My brain kept going through the SU movie soundtrack at random while trying to write this; which only dates the chapter if you know the kind of person I am and how I watched said movie.

* * *

18\. Act V: Blue Fire (part 2)

Rosalinda never really understood why people used that metaphor of glass breaking to describe the moment someone drops some bad news, not until now that is. She actually finds it very fitting, considering she's broken her fair share of glass items, because it's like the sound of the world concentrates into one singular point for a split second, and then there are glass shards everywhere.

Silas, and that's a really cool name, enters the room in a hurry, somehow managed to make a whole sentence happen without it being all garbled, and then kind of hoots before continuing his panting, now in a chair. It's not that series of actions that break the little bubble they were in, just like it isn't the glass shattering that causes a reaction, it's his words, it's the sound.

"Angela is going to attack Eric"

There is a moment of almost deafening silence, the bubble has popped, the glass no longer in one piece; and then…  
Eric, ridiculous as he can be, tends to lean towards the no-mag half of his banana split blood when it comes to how he reacts to tough situations; so after a few beats, he lets out a long defeated sigh, like he's surrendering himself to the tedious duty of picking all the pieces so no one gets hurt. Maybe she's taken the metaphor too far, but oh well.

{-}

"How come Professor Sydell lets you use the Charms room outside of class?"

Dallas shrugs.

"Same reason Professor Kytirnos let you have your own experiment room"

Eric makes a face.

"You tried to create a spell that would permanently change your gender?"

Dallas gives him the most deadpan look he can muster, Ryker actually snorts from where he is moving stuff to make space, so Eric calls it a semi-victory.

"Let's see if you're still joking when this is over"

"Is it weird I found that hot?"

They may or may not get startled by the new voice, but thankfully it's just Silas; only he seems to realize what he's said because he's gone pink, and so has Dallas. Eric glances at Ryker, who has the look of someone who cannot believe this is happening; so Eric decides to ask later.

"Ok boys, spell me up"

{~}

"If this were a game, which would you say would be more likely to increase your magic?"

Liam blinks at him, usually he's the one going to the Horned Serpent table, not the other way around.

"The fish"

Eric nods and pulls that plate closer to him, pushing the other towards Dakota, who takes it as though this is a normal occurrence.

"Why did you ask?"

Eric eats slowly and carefully, getting bites of bread every so often.

"Well, I figured they had to get the idea from somewhere if it was a common thing in fantasy"

Liam has gone with the beef option, and working on it a little faster, though he keeps having to remind himself to take sips of his water.

"Huh, I guess we're living proof of that"

Eric gives him a secretive but still very bright smile, the kind that makes him feel warmth envelope him. They go back to eating their respective meals, but the silence between them is a light one; comfortable.

Ivy comes over to sit, because she tends to follow her friends like a baby duck during eating hours, trying to avoid Angela. Liam does not blame her, he's also trying his best to avoid Angela, or the two guys she now hangs around with; also, she asks the question Liam's been rolling in his brain since he heard Eric sit down in front of him.

"Why are you sitting in the Thunderbird table?"

And Dakota, who's the one Liam has spent the most time around of the younger half of the group, doesn't even look up from her own plate of beef.

"He's trying to raise his stats"

Ivy nods like she gets it, Eric groans and looks up at Liam, it causes his heart to do a pirouette.

"Introducing them to no-mag things was a mistake"

{?}

"We don't actually know if she'll even stick by normal duel rules, actually, she most definitely will not"

Silas is pacing again, though Beatrice supposes he has more than enough reason to do so.

"You do know I'm really bad at duel magic, right?

Silas makes a motion with his arms.

"Yeah, but I need moral support if I'm gonna teach someone"

Beatrice opens and closes her mouth, before resigning herself to the fate of a good best friend.

"Ok, fair"


	19. Blue Fire (p3)

19\. Act V: Blue Fire (part 3)

starysky205. tumblr/ post/ 187628979732/ this-was-the-only-way-to-make-it-keep-the

Scott scoffs, suddenly hit with the very real urge to punch someone in the face; so maybe his voice takes on a vicious tone, sue him.

"If she thinks we're gonna let you face her alone when she has help then she's out of her fucking mind"

Eric opens his mouth, then closes it, eyes going wide before he whirls towards him.

"Did you just cuss?"

Scott grabs the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

"That cannot be what you focus on"

"And yet"

Rosalinda joins them at the table, Calla following after her, the younger makes a worried face.

"Scott looks very irritated"

Rosalinda smiles.

"Kind of reminds me of the knife incident"

Calla blinks, as if trying to process those words, then she turns towards Eric.

"You carry a weapon"

Eric takes out his switchblade, which is a word Scott learned because of him, thankfully keeping it closed.

"Had it since I was 10, know how to use it proper and everything"

Scott slumps against the table, the note momentarily forgotten.

{#}

In the end, Eric allows his friends accompany him to the encounter, but he draws the line at Ivy and her friends joining them too, which includes Zara even though she's been friends with the original group longer. Dallas, Silas, Ryker, and Beatrice, are all staying behind to make sure none of them try anything.

The spot behind the quidditch field is lush with overgrown vegetation, which is a statement to how little people come here; no one is surprised at the numbers the other person has, not really. Angela gets away from where she was leaning into a tree and gives Eric a smile he hasn't seen in four years give or take.

They all drew their wands, and it began.

{-}

Spell after spell, attack to defense to attack, repeat, change angle, get caught, hit something, repeat. They didn't have much chance of winning, not really, not with the experience gap, but somehow, through sheer force, it diminished to just Liam and Eric against Angela, taking turns to attack and defend.

Eric hadn't been paying attention, not really, focused on casting spell after spell, but then he heard it, right beside his ear, so he turned, a late protecting spell spurting from the falling body at his side; and then he turned back to Angela, with that sickening grin, and arm rose.

He didn't say anything, wouldn't have known the word necessary for what he would cast, but the air was filled with melodic crowing, and he could feel a weight on his shoulder, and heat run through his entire body; so he let it out. For a moment all he could feel was heat, unbearable, asphyxiating; and all he could see was blue, bright, and hard to keep his eyes open against.

He thinks he hears a voice, familiar and not in tandem, but the blue has gone, as has the weight in his shoulder, and the ground spins; and the world goes dark.


	20. Blue Fire (p4)

20\. Act V: Blue fire (part 4)

Calla Meyers can count the amount of times she's had to be in the school's infirmary with just her two hands, though a good majority of them had been as a visitor and not a patient; this one is still jarringly different.

They had all been in the common area, waiting for the return of their friends, right after the sky had been lit up as though thunder had hit, watching the smoke as the professors dealt with whatever had happened. They all watched as the professors returned, with their friends floating or being helped to walk; Calla remembers thinking Eric had looked younger than he really was, hanging limp in professor Socolovsky's arms.  
Now, lying in one of the cots, he's regained a bit of what little color his skin has; the nurse has let the window closest to him open just a smidge, but the arliuz sitting in the windowsill has made no move to enter.

Luka and Rosalinda had been the first ones out of the infirmary, having been also the only ones capable of walking, with a little help but still; Scott came to a day later, and needed a little more time to get back on his feet. The three of them had been busy making up for the time they loss of class, while they waited for the last two; then, almost a week later, Liam woke up, he also had to stay after to get back to speed.

Eric remained asleep, having been fully healed a few days ago, his body still had much to regain; they had been visiting him in turns. Calla was not surprised at the sight that welcomed her once in the infirmary, she had requested this turn specifically because of it; as she knew she would be the least likely to make a fuss about it.

Liam sat at Eric's bedside, watching the rise and fall of his chest, he looked peaceful, and the bags under his eyes had nearly disappeared. He looked healthy, or rather healthier, than he'd been since 3rd year; so it made sense he would take so long to wake up.

No one really knew what had happened, Angela's little trio had been taken to a hospital, expelled from the school; but they insisted their actions were justifiable, as they had been trying to rid the school of the mind-washing they accused Eric of doing. There would be a legal fight at some point, and the no-mag minister was ready to explain to the entire magic world that being transgender was not a cult thing; Liam tried not to think about it too hard.

He hears Calla enter the room, and lets out a sigh, placing the hand he'd been holding back on the mattress; she doesn't say anything about it, never has, and Liam is beyond grateful for her silence. He stretches as he leaves the seat, and pats her on the shoulder before leaving the room, only then does she smile at him, small and tinted with worry; Liam doesn't say anything either, because he knows she's too proud to admit just how big of an effect this has had on her.

{=}

While Eric sleeps, Anabelle, Calla, Zara, and Dakota, have all been taking turns consoling Ivy; who is the most shaken of them all. It's easy to remember, right then, that Eric wasn't fighting a random student, but that it was Ivy's own sister, her blood; it must be awful.

None of them really know what to tell her, how to make it all better, or even how to make it hurt just a little less. And then, as if sensing their struggle, like he had all that time ago when he decided to help them be themselves; Eric wakes up.


	21. Connected (p1)

21\. Act VI: Connected (Part 1)

Zachary Crowner is a sharp man, quick to list the very long list of reasons why he chose to take the two of them under his wing, not once mentioning their connection to his brother; and it doesn't take long to realize Zachary is indeed Scott's older brother, the two look very alike.

It actually takes longer for Silas to feel comfortable enough to call him Zach, instead of going with his full name or his surname; Dallas takes less time to do so, but then he's always been the better at socializing of the two.

Silas hadn't really considered becoming an auror before, but the offer was too nice to refuse, and it wasn't like he lacked any of the qualifications; he knew Dallas was different though, so he would do his best not to ruin things for him, particularly now that they were coworkers.

Eric writes to him now, engaging him in long tirades about spells, charms, and even a few minor jinxes; jokingly referring to him as Professor Poinsette in every one. Beatrice also writes, and her letters are every bit as sassy and wonderful as she is; she's off in India, learning about her roots, and spreading arithmancy like wildfire.

He's a little all over the place, but Zach is nothing but understanding of it, given he'd been in his place three years back, and Dallas is nothing but supportive. So Silas thinks that, eventually, everything will fall into place; holds onto that idea, and really, deeply, believes it to be true.

{^}

"Do you guys remember that one summer we spent with Eric's Scottish grandmother trying to figure out if Azul was a demon?"

Eric smiled, as he does when talking about his maternal family, something warm in his eyes.

"My grandma had the craziest life, apparently she was a bisexual activist way back when"

Rosalinda nods, accepting his contribution.

"Anyway, do you guys want to stay with my family this summer?"

Luka frowns.

"When you say family…"

"I mean my parents and siblings"

Eric makes a face.

"That's gonna be interesting to deal with"

Rosalinda frowns.

"Eric, you've met them before"

"Yeah, but not as me"

Rosalinda turns her head upwards, unspeaking, and they all process this new development in different kinds of silence.

{&}

"I'm stealing you for the summer"

Ivy blinks at Zara, a little concerned.

"It's September"

Zara ignores her to instead look at Anabelle.

"You're coming too"

Anabelle, who's a hopeless lesbian, smiles at her.

"Sure"

Ivy decides she does not want to third wheel on them, if they even stop being useless and actually do something about their feelings; she hopes they do, she really does, but she'd rather have someone there to help her deal with their pinning.

"Can Calla and Dakota come?"

Zara grins at her, something shinning in her eyes.

"Way ahead of you"

Ivy sighs and nods, it'll beat having to spend another summer in her house; particularly considering Angela would actually be there this year, since she's on house arrest until she finishes her studies.


	22. Connected (p2)

22\. Act VI: Connected (part 2)

A lot of things can change in a summer; the school found out the old quidditch teacher had been perfectly aware of what happened last year and actually let it happen, so now they had a new one. This change was right on time as Calla found herself going to the field with Eric at her side; apparently this is something he's been thinking about for a while.

"Kinda hard to get into sports this late, but what can you do?"

Calla nods, she gets it really, it sucks that Eric had to wait this long to try his hand at quidditch. She still hopes he wipes the floor with all the other players regardless, it would feel amazing.

If all goes well they'll have a practice match and then their first real match against Pukwudgie. She knows because Dakota still can't shut up about quidditch, and it's nice to see her so bright, but Calla doesn't particularly care, she's only in the team because her roommate had needed emotional support and now it was too late to quit.

Eric seems amused by this when she explains it to him, as he knows her too well by now, but otherwise makes absolutely no comments about it; she loves him for it. He also really does wipe the floor with everyone on the team, because he's an idiot who likes flying too much, but the expressions everyone makes are extremely worth it.

{~}

They all sit in a table at the library, books on different subjects open, Rosalinda is carefully outlining a chart for study and homework, which she claims is actually kind of like studying, while Luka watches on with dread. Scott is watching Eric, whose eyes are glazed over as they glare daggers at the book in front of him, with increasing amounts of concern, when Liam finally joins them.

"What did that book do to you?"

Eric blinks a few times before he looks up, exhaustion clear in his movements.

"If you help me with magic history I'll be forever in your debt"

Liam raises an eyebrow.

"How many times did you help me and Luka with Potions?"

Eric blushes and looks away, Liam smiles.

"Of course I'm gonna help you, but I don't want you to feel like you owe me for it"

Eric smiles then, finally turning back, looking far less tense than before.

"You're the best"

Scott lets out a fake cough, looking away from the two pinning idiots, and feels as Eric turns to glare at him. He lifts the book he's holding to hide his face, because Liam has also glared at him, which is hilarious in a weird frustrating way, but they have to deal with this themselves.

{=}

Dakota knows she could easily see if things would turn out happy if she were to, I don't know, do something stupid like confess her feelings; but using her knowledge of divination like that feels very much like cheating. Liam nods sagely at this.

"Yeah, no, it really does sound like cheating when you say it like that"

Dakota sighs.

"Do you think I have a chance?"

Liam hums, slowing down a little.

"I mean, probably? Like, about as much chance as Tyler has with Calla"

Dakota chuckles.

"They both ask me about the other, did you know?"

Liam smiles.

"See, you worry too much"

Dakota rolls her eyes.

"Says the guy who's been pinning for five years and counting"

Liam takes a hand to his heart dramatically.

"Ugh, pour salt in my wounds why don't you?"

Dakota makes a face.

"Liam, you're so gone for him, why have you not said anything yet?"

He doesn't get to respond because they arrive at the cafeteria, and Dakota does not press because she knows better than to do so in front of everyone else. It's probably for the better, least he remind her that she's no better than him when it comes to romance.


	23. Connected (p3)

23\. Act VI: Connected (part 3)

Despite it being a family of five, the Wellings family owns a decently big beach house; Rosalinda explains that they normally share it with her cousins, but that they had managed to go aboard this time. They all settle into borrowed rooms, Eric and Scott decide to share like they do back in school; Rosalinda will share with her younger sister, and either Luka or Liam will share with her younger brother.

They end up restoring to another match of magic chess, since they're both equally bad at it, which makes Scott and Rosalinda exchange looks over a confused Eric's shoulders. In the end Liam wins, and Luka has to room with the thirteen-year-old.

Scott looks at them like he thinks they're idiots.

"I can't believe neither of you learned to play chess after last time"

Luka actually, honest to god, pouts.

"We've disappointed dad"

Rosalinda frowns, nose scrunching up

"Does that make me mom?"

Eric pats her shoulder shaking his head.

"You're like an aunt; Scottie is a single father"

Scott pinches the bridge of his nose, biting his lips to try and contain the very clear smile on his face.

"I'm disowning all of you"

{+}

Loreto and Elba stare at Eric for a whole minute, Loreto is the first one to nod and move on with his life; it takes Elba a little longer, but she seems mostly bothered by the fact that Eric is a handsome boy, and whether she thinks that because he's done a good job with the potion, or because he hasn't. Eric seems amused by this, if a little flustered, and thanks her for the maybe compliment; he's clearly not all that comfortable being complimented on his appearance by someone two years younger than him, Scott figures that's a good thing.

Rosalinda's parents are very welcoming, making sure they all feel comfortable during their stay, and mainly letting them be alone together, though they do ask them to not do any magic here. It reminds them that, legally speaking, none of them are actually allowed to do magic outside of school anyways; but soon they will, and that's kind of mind blowing.

"E, you'll get there faster, what will you do with magic freedom?"

Eric hums before tilting his head towards the roof.

"Practice my fire spell"

Liam tilts his head.

"Huh, I'd thought you'd say flying"

Eric chuckles.

"I can do that without unrestrained magic powers"

Luka groans.

"I wanna be able to apparate places"

Scott frowns.

"That's so dangerous, do not rush that"

Luka looks away, chastised; it'd be funny if it weren't even more proof that Scott really did become the dad-friend of the group.

{&}

Dear Eric:

I thought having Calla and Dakota here with me would help with dealing with Zara and Anabelle dancing circles around each other; I was severely wrong. Though, and to be fair, all three of us are suffering their ridiculous pinning.

It is because we are that I'm writing this, because I know for a fact that you and Liam are causing similar pain to all of your friends. This is ridiculous Eric, he's crazy about you, you're crazy about him, it shouldn't be as complicated as you're making it.

I have just discovered everyone here has a crush they have no intention of doing anything about, I'm two seconds away from giving up; how have humans persisted this long when everyone's so useless with romance?

Please Eric, I can feel my sanity abandoning me.

Your pseudo-sister

Ivy


	24. Connected (p4)

Me, writing this: Do not use the word 'wild', it was not popular in the timeframe of your story.

Also me *in distress*: I can only say mind blowing so many times.

* * *

24\. Act VI: Connected (part 4)

Dear Ivy:

Somewhere, in the chaos of the last few years, I happened to stumble into the realization that my feelings had changed with me; but you've heard this story already. The point it, I'm tired too, ok? I'm frustrated, and impatient, and…

You are right that it should be easy, being brave should be easy for me, particularly after everything; but it isn't. I want to do this right Ivy, if I'm really gonna do it, so that there's no room for confusion, so no one can say I did it for the wrong reasons; I want to do it because what I feel for him is special, he means so much to me, but not in the way you do, and not in the way Scott does, or Luka, or Rosalinda.

I don't know how much longer I can keep it to myself, but I also have no idea how to even begin trying to tell him. Being in love is hard Ivy, it's so fucking hard.

Your pseudo-brother

Eric

{%}

There's surprisingly a lot to do in the Redland household, which speaks of a clear mismatch of both regular and magical ways of life; Anabelle is a little in awe at Zara's mother for not getting swallowed in the 'wonder of magic'.

Anabelle and Zara manage to create a 'pureblood friendly' game of guess the character, writing names of people they'll actually know in the margins of poker cards and holding them in their foreheads without magic; the heat helps a little with this. It's the most fun they've had in years, voices rising only to claim that the player really did know that person, or complaining about the fact that they aren't guessing their own person, or laughing uncontrollably when someone picks something that's really easy but the guessing goes for a really long time.

They are having fun, acting like the teenagers they are, which is… weird, it's a weird thing. It probably says a lot about them and their experiences; and it's kind of sad when Anabelle really thinks about it.

But it's summer, and they have plans to go watch a movie later in the day, because the fact that the magic world doesn't have movies is honestly mind blowing; and Anabelle will not bring the atmosphere down.

{=}

Dakota sees the interactions between Zara and Anabelle on an entire new light now that she has a crush of her own; she thinks they deserve and award for managing to keep breathing within close distance of the other. She does still feel a little annoyed, and justifies it by the fact that they're equally obvious and oblivious; honestly, it's ridiculous.

At the very least she has Calla and Ivy there with her, which makes things a little more bearable. Ivy eventually confesses that she prefers listening to both Calla and Dakota talk about their crushes than she does watching Zara and Anabelle pine like fools; going as far as saying that they are worse than Eric and Liam, and that kind of big.

Dakota hopes Liam finally gets the guts to confess to Eric, or maybe the other way around, she doesn't really have a preference, she just wants them to finally admit their feelings; it's been literal ages. Maybe, how do ages work as a measure of time again? Dakota can't remember.

{#}

Zara had only really wanted to not spend the summer alone, but she's beyond glad that she invited the girls over; it has nothing to do with being able to see Anabelle in summer clothes, nope, not at all.

It makes her wonder what Luka and the others are doing right now, and how they feel knowing they're about to start their last year; how does Zara feel about that? Is it odd that she thinks she's going to miss having her brother around so often?

He's honestly matured a lot, and she can actually have conversations with him without it being awkward, they are kind of like friends; it's weird. She doesn't know what to make of it, or whether it'll stop once he gets deep into whatever he decides to do with his life; she hopes it doesn't.


	25. Leaving Safety (p1)

This was surprisingly cathartic.

* * *

25: Act VII: Leaving safety (part 1)

With the wide amount of students in the school, it made sense that they would be divided as much as possible; so every house had two teachers assigned to them, these teachers would sit down with all students to talk about what was next. For Horned serpent, the teachers picked were Professor Michael Socolovsky, and Professor Vivian Harlequin.

The system was functional, in theory, but it did not account for teachers deciding who was or wasn't a certain gender; which is how Eric found himself face to face with Professor Harlequin.

Anyone else would've been rightfully angry, but Eric couldn't afford that luxury, not with this particular woman, no with someone who was involved in the Angela incident. If Eric was angry, if he acted up, he would only give her fodder; luckily his spite was stronger than his anger.

He couldn't force her to use his proper pronouns, couldn't ignore her, anything and everything that happened during the sessions would be used against him. It would drive anyone insane, to be pushed over and over until they finally exploded and reacted exactly as the other wanted them to; Eric refused to do it, to play along her twisted game.

So he didn't.

He asked once, evenly, properly, carefully, was nothing but polite and soft; only when she refused did he play his card. It wasn't hard really, he was tired, he was frustrated, he was hurt; so he cried, right there and then, let go of all the emotion he had built up in his chest.

He didn't care that she saw, let her, he didn't care who heard, let them, he didn't care how it made him look; if the only way out was to pretend like nothing he felt mattered, then he didn't want it. He didn't stop, couldn't possibly now that he had started; how long had he been edging this? How long had he needed to simply cry? And why hadn't he?

The door opened, but he didn't look up, curling in on himself as his body shook, and then…

"Ah, Socolovsky, don't mind her, she's just upset because she's not getting what she wants"

Eric feels something build in his chest, and it feels familiar, like anger, like desperation, and like blue fire.

"Mr. Peterson, if you could wait outside"

His ears are ringing, and he looks up, to tired brown eyes, and he knows if he doesn't he'll do something he can't take back; so he stands up on shaking legs, and he breathes.

"You can't keep babying her, this little façade has gone too long"

"That's enough!"

Eric runs, he doesn't know where he gets the strength from, or the energy, or literally anything he'd need normally, he just does. He doesn't stop, even as he stumbles in the hall, catching fading words.

"… you've caused that boy far more harm"

He doesn't want to know.

{+}

It takes Eric a while to calm down, it's kind of terrifying really, because Scott has never seen him like this. He knows something happened with Professor Harlequin, but Eric doesn't want to talk about that; instead Eric talks about how he got his knife.

He talks about fear, about being unable to do anything, about finally getting free, about police officers and weapons, about staring into the barrel of a gun and not caring. Then he talks about moving, about broken mirrors and bathroom walls, about a terrible almost, about signs, and about cyan eyes.

It's not the first time Scott's heard the story, not really, but Eric's take on it is a lot more detailed now than it was back then; he doesn't know what brought the memories back, but Scott knows it can't be anything good. The knowledge of what Eric almost did is just as stilling as it had been the first time, and Scott is just as at a lost for how he feels, realizing he could've lost his best friend before even meeting him; would he have befriended anyone other than Liam?  
But then, there are another million what ifs circled solely around Eric, and more if he considers Rosalinda, or Liam, or Luka, or any of the girls… or himself. Eric makes a face when he admits he's been having these thoughts, kind of like he's uncomfortable.

"Well, what ifs are kinda on brand with potion creation, but uhm… you're not exactly amazing at that"

Scott goes to complain, remember this is Eric he's talking with, and thinks better. Eric grins at him, something almost amused in his face.

"You're really Good at transfiguration though, does that work with what ifs?"

He thinks about transfiguration, really and deeply, and what it means to him.

"Less on what ifs and more… what happens next, I guess"

Eric makes a motion with his hand like 'there you go', Scott accepts the weird sort of wisdom he's been given. It actually really helps, surprisingly enough; he's not sure how to feel about that.


	26. Leaving Safety (p2)

26: Act VII: Leaving safety (part 2)

"Remember that time Eric and the girls put together a bunch of DnD related costumes so Liam would feel ok with wearing his?"

Rosalinda doesn't lift her eyes from the parchment she's working on

"For his birthday? Yeah, I helped some, coolest Halloween, I still think we should've made it a tradition"

Luka ignores this, instead doing another circle.

"And that time Liam dressed in the female uniform for an entire week to get Edward Wills to stop bothering Eric?"

Rosalinda dips her quill, ridding of the excess with practiced movements, before adding yet another line of words, unbothered.

"Again, I was there"

Luka finally stops his pacing and flops into the nearest chair.

"How are they not already happily married?"

Rosalinda places her pen gently against the table before finally looking at him, her expression is even as she stares him in the eye.

"Because they're hopeless gays"

{+}

Scott would like to say he doesn't play favorites, but Eric is his best friend, and Liam has been pinning after him from day one; so maybe he feels more annoyed with the latter of the two, it doesn't mean anything.

Ivy has taken to hanging out with him, as she two is absolutely done with hopeless idiots pinning and being pinned after, her words. Scott likes her on principle, in the way he likes all her friends, as sisters of his own friends; but said friends are getting involved in romances, and Scott is particularly glad that only two of his friends are tangled in such dramatics.

Scott didn't really get it, like, sure, he understood romance in theory, but not so much so in practice; he never felt the need to seek out someone else, not really, is that a bad thing?

Ivy runs a hand through her hair, which has been gradually getting longer through the years and can now be fashioned into twin braids, one brown and the other magenta as per usual.

"I mean, the idea of being able to be affectionate without it ever getting weird does sound nice"

He shrugs at her, because he thinks he would like that too; he's apparently touch starved, which is a weird thing he found out because his friends don't shy from giving affection, sitting closely piled together in the yard.

"Well yeah, but I don't need a relationship for that, you know?"

Ivy shakes her head from side to side, bouncing it up and down as she does.

"When you put it like that, sure"

Scott hears the unsaid 'but' in that and smiles at her.

"You do know you're allowed to disagree with me, right?"

Ivy flushes, head whirling around as if checking for anyone listening, before finally looking back at Scott.

"I'm a teenager, people are hot, I have needs"

Scott flinches at that because, it's kind of really weird, hearing her talk about this when he's known her since she was twelve.

"I'm gonna pretend like I was never made aware of you being interested in sex, so we can both move on with our lives"

Ivy takes both of her hands to her face, successfully hiding her expression, and Scott notes that her nails are pastel pink instead of transparent.

"Please"

{#}

"You know; I've been thinking"

Calla blows at her nails.

"A sign of the end of all things, surely"

Zara scoffs at her in indignation, Calla raises an eyebrow at her, Anabelle shifts in her chair.

"What about?"

Zara smiles at her in a very pointed way, Calla rolls her eyes.

"The fact that we're expected to act like responsible adults at 17"

Ivy, who's been carefully working on Dakota's gives Calla a look.

"Sorry, that's an actually smart thing"

Calla nods at her, a look that seems to imply 'what can one do', Zara huffs. Dakota turns her head to her, craning her neck in order to not bother Ivy.

"No-mag people are considered adults by 21, right?"

Zara nods her head, Dakota looks back to Ivy, but it's more of a 'my neck is starting to hurt' so Zara can't blame her.

"The more I learn about no-mag culture, the more I think the magic world is fucked up"

Calla looks at Zara like she personally offended her and not the other way around.

"You've got Kota going"

Dakota frowns down at her hands, Ivy sits a little better in her chair.

"Why have we not incorporated pens? Do you know how many times I had to re-do an essay because of ink spots?"

Ivy lets out a sound that's a little too close to a growl, they all stiffen in tandem; she gets her scolding tone from Eric.

"Apologize, and you, stop squirming"

Zara, takes a hand to her chest, and solemnly faces Calla.

"I am so sorry"

Calla mimics the motion with an equal expression.

"I am sorry too"

They both really do mean it; they don't actually want to hurt the other. Sure, Eric will never stop being there for them if he can help it, and his friends are nothing but kind to them, but at the end of the day, all five of them have only each other to fall on.


	27. Leaving Safety (p3)

27\. Act VII: Leaving Safety (part 3)

They all been taking apparition classes, because it's a handy spell to know, but a dangerous one to attempt without proper guidance; it also gives them some more time together, as they've all taken to electives that help them towards what they want, rarely if ever sharing any.

It wasn't the first time they were separated like this, actually, they had been pulled apart from the moments electives became a thing back in their third year; they had gotten used to it by now, and were nothing if not stubborn about remaining united despite it.

It spoke volumes on their friendship, on the trust, care, and respect they had for one another, and it explained why half of them had come out of a match with far stronger opponents with nothing but a few scrapes, while the other party all ended in the hospital. They knew each other extremely well, and had an astounding ease for falling into step together if necessary.

However, they were still human, and could completely ignore something that was right in front of their eyes. In their last year of education, their fellow students were engaging in a bet; one that included betters from all houses, and was cause for discussion; the teacher had never seen such house unity.

So when Liam makes his way towards Eric during a shared free period, with a decided gait to his step that is generally not there; every 7th year in the courtyard holds their breath. Eric, who is not in on the bet for clear reasons, remains unbothered, nose buried in a potion-related tome, as he lays on one of the benches; only looking up when Liam was close enough to cast a shadow.

"Hi Liam, can you hold one sec, I don't wanna lose my progress"

Liam chuckles, voice wavering just slightly.

"Sure"

Eric goes back to his book for a few beats, before finally turning the page and placing the bookmark that had dropped into the ground into the fold before closing the book.

"So"

Liam swallows.

"I wanted to ask you something"

Eric blinks, hands tightening around the book.

"Ok"

Liam takes a deep breath, fists clenching at his sides.

"I know everyone will go to the Halloween party, but would you want to go? Like with me, together?"

"Yeah"

There's a moment of silence, and then Liam breaks.

"Wait really?"

Eric runs a hand through the back of his hair.

"Well, yeah, only it's probably better if I get you so I can give you your birthday present, but sure"

Liam shifts on his feet, face slowly flushing to match his hair.

"Ok, cool, perfect, I have to go now"

He rushes away, Eric watches him until he fully disappears from view before he plops down into the bench, book on his chest, and covers his face to muffle a scream. In the background, money is exchanged quickly and quietly.

{~}

"I asked Eric out"

Rosalinda lets out a melodic hum as she guides a needle and thread through a piece of meat with her wand. Then there's a pause, as she puts the meat down, lowering her wand with wide eyes, and then turns towards him.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

Liam lets out a breathy laugh.  
"I asked Eric out"

Rosalinda puts her hands together in a mock prayer, pressing them against her lower lip; and she's grinning widely.

"Holy fucking shit"

Liam feels a smile forming in his own lips.

"Yeah"

Then the door is opening, and there's Luka, who glances from one to the other and is understandably weary.

"What's up"

Liam doesn't think he'll be able to stop grinning.

"I asked Eric out"

Luka makes an entire expression.

"Fucking finally"

Rosalinda hits the table.

"Luka!"

Luka rolls his eyes.

"Your patient's getting room temperature doc"

Rosalinda pokes her tongue out at him, Luka pats Liam in the shoulder, small smile on his face.

"Good on you, really"

Liam can't even be mad.

{+}

Scott watches Eric pace the room, the research for his newest project are strewn across the table, it's nothing as ambitious as the 'gender swap' potion; it should be easy for Eric, particularly with all the extra practice he has this time around, but he's distracted. Scott adores his best friend, he really does, and it's precisely because of this that he winds up asking, because he knows Eric needs to talk it out if he wants to go back to being productive.

"What did the floor do to deserve a hole?"

Eric snorts, giving Scott on of his endeared looks.

"Liam asked me to go to the Halloween party with him, as in, together"

Scott raises an eyebrow.

"Did he now?"

Eric rolls his eyes.

"Yes you dork"

Scott rests his head on a fist, elbow on a free spot in the table.

"So"

Eric sighs, finally going to sit at the other end.

"What if I fuck up and he ends up hating me?"

Scott does not bring up the fact that Liam has liked Eric for 6 years now, and has seen him at his worst already, because he knows better. Instead he sighs and reaches a hand out for Eric to hold, he takes it with a gratefully.

"Look, you've liked him for a while, I get that you're nervous, but he has just as much experience in this as you"

Eric lets out a shaky laugh, but he already looks slightly more composed.

"Yeah, you're right, I know this"

Scott smiles at him, squeezing their hands.

"Stop listening to your shitty brain"

Eric really does laugh then; Scott can't help but feel a little proud.


	28. Leaving Safety (p4)

28\. Act VII: Leaving safety (part 4)

"Mr. Redland"

"Professor Sydell"

The man arches an eyebrow, Luka shrugs and sits down.

"It has come to my attention that, despite performing perfectly in all your electives that you do not seem to follow any pattern that would guarantee you a career"

Luka sighs, intertwining his fingers over the table.

"Can I be brutally honest with you Professor?"

The man levels him with a look before nodding once.

"I suppose that would be agreeable"

Luka sighs through his nose, trying to think on how to explain this while staying polite.

"As someone who has seen both sides, the magic world has very few options"

He tightens his hold, knowing that if he doesn't his hands will start flying everywhere.

"I could go into the government, I could teach, I could heal, or I could sell; which are noble pursuits, really"

He thinks about the Wellings family setting a projector up, and Rosalinda putting on 'dead poet's society' because it's her favorite, and everyone crying because it was a sad movie. Rosalinda would smile at him now, nothing but encouraging; as she loves the 'expression chaos' no-mag references cause everyone secluded to the magical world.

"But none of them appeal to me, like, I really can't see myself doing any of those things every day of my life"

Professor Sydell gets this look on his face, and it's one that Luka's seen before, but that doesn't mean he knows the exact name. The man takes pulls out an outfitted scroll, wood rod and everything, from the shelves with a wave of his wand.

"So let's open up those options, then"

Luka isn't sure how he feels about this, but he thinks that may be a good thing.

{-}

"So"

Eric recognizes the tone and tries even harder to push all 10 uses of dragon claws in potions into his brain; which has been a seemingly impossible endeavor so far, but he's nothing if not stubborn. Rosalinda, absolute chaotic young woman that she is, does not relent.

"A little bird told me you had a hot date"

Eric sighs, knowing she will not leave him alone if he doesn't pay some attention to her; that doesn't mean he has to actually look at her.

"Liam told you, you mean"

He can imagine the look on her face at this, even if he keeps his eyes on the book in front of him; he's beyond distracted, but again, way too stubborn.

"He qualifies as a little bird, you know, house wise"

Eric can't help it, she knows him too well, and he should've known he wasn't going to win against her. He makes sure his frustration is plain in his face when he does lift his eyes towards her; she pokes her tongue at him, and Eric sighs.

"Yeah, I guess I do"

The door to the common room opens, making both of them look up, Scott, who just arrived, takes one look at the scene in front of him and sighs.

"Don't both of you have projects to finish?"

Eric lifts his book into view.

"Roz decided it was break time"

Rosalinda scoffs at him.

"I just think I should've heard about the date from both sides instead of having to pry it out of you"

Eric pokes his tongue at her, Scott takes the empty sofa between them.

"Don't make me start querying you"

Rosalinda pales, and hurries to the nearby table where there's a pile of parchments, Eric smiles at him and tries to go back to his book.

{=}

"You're gonna become a teacher Li?"

Liam messes with his hair.

"I guess; I've thought about it a lot so"

Dakota hums, and then makes a face.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, that just feels more like an Eric thing"

Liam chuckles at that.

"No way, he's a good tutor, sure, but he'd suck as a teacher"

Dakota blinks at him.

"What?"

Liam grins.

"Oh man, he has no filter and zero patience for bullshit; can you imagine him dealing with a parent?"

Dakota keeps blinking.

"I thought you liked him?"

Liam rises an eyebrow.

"I'm crazy about him, that doesn't mean he'd make a good teacher"

Dakota lets out a huff of breath and the shakes her head.

"You know what, I'm just gonna leave it at that"

Liam chuckles again.

"If you had pinned after that girl of yours for as long as I did with Eric you'd get it"

Dakota goes through an entire set of expressions before smiling.

"I appreciate your self-awareness"

Liam winks at her.

"I try"


	29. Leaving Safety (p5)

29\. Act VII: Leaving Safety (part 5)

Eric, dork that he is, takes full advantage of his pale complexion to do a vampire costume, having made one of those handkerchief ties and donning on an old suit with honest to god tailcoats; when Scott asks he explains that it used to belong to his father, and he had to have it tailored because Ramsay Peterson was a lot bigger than him even way back when.

Eric doesn't talk about him much, only mentioning him if Jaqueline made a complaint in one of her letters, like an afterthought; so the rest of them had come to treat the idea of the man in the same way. Like, yeah, Eric had a dad in the Ministry, and yeah, he never saw the man; he never sees Jaqueline either despite them being siblings.

Scott is shaken out of his trail of thought by Eric, who has slicked his raven hair back, letting his weird bluish-grey eyes in full view.

"Come on, the girls are waiting to do out makeup"

Scott sighs and follows him to the common area of the Horned Snake wing, where Calla is finishing Rosalinda's zombie look; there's some very good charms on them, Rosalinda's eyes look eerily blank and her skin looks bluish where it isn't open to show her skull, while Calla has cat ears and tail that actually move.

Scott himself has chosen a pirate, because it let him re-use a lot of the things from the 'DnD Halloween', so he has managed to skip makeup; but he still waits while Eric gets his lips and eyes painted by Calla while Rosalinda puts a charm in his neck so it'll look like the popular mark.

"So, today"

Eric sighs through his nose, which seems to amuse Calla.

"Today"

Scott puts a hand on Rosalinda's shoulder.

"You're gonna get him out of his calm spiel"

Rosalinda whines at this but doesn't say anything else, a few minutes later all four of them are ready to go; Calla actually agreed to meet with the other girls in the staircase so they say goodbye to her, Eric does a quick accio for the gift before also going away, though with at a brisker pace. Scott and Rosalinda exchange a look as he fades into the distance, and then go find Luka.

{~}

To say Liam is nervous would be partially wrong, he is to an extent, sure, but he's also giddy; and honestly kind of giggly, but that's to be expected. And then Dakota pops her head into his room, fake scales shining under the light and a pair of horns freshly placed on her hair; Liam knows the girls are going for a theme, dressing as the insignias of other houses, so she was a horned serpent, while Calla was a cat, Ivy and Anabelle were thunderbirds, and Zara was a whatever the Pukwudgie thing was, Liam thought it looked like a tribe person.

"There's someone at the door for you"

Liam took a deep breath, taking one last look at his steam-punk getup, and then followed a beaming Dakota to the common area where a startled looking Eric waited for him, holding a small colorful bag with a handmade bow. They meet eyes and Eric gives him a small smile and approaches.

"Your prefect let me in"

Liam sighs.

"Of course she did"

Dakota grins.

"Hi Eric"

Eric gives her this particularly soft smile that seems reserved to Ivy and her friends.

"Hey Kota, green looks lovely on you"

Dakota chuckles and then skips out.

"Gotta go, have fun on your date, bye!"

They watch her go, and then Eric turns to him and offers the bag.

"Here, happy birthday"

"Thanks, give me a second"

He hurries to put the gift away and then back to… well, to Eric.

{0}

The night passes with music, and food, and candy, and dancing, and laughter; free, unrestrained, happy. It starts a little awkward but eventually, and unavoidably, melts into something they both enjoy fully.

It's comfortable, safe, and familiar; they've cared for each other for so long that the extra step, that change into something different? It comes to them almost naturally.

One of them has had to be brave more often that the other, but not tonight, as Eric allows himself to take the role of follower, and Liam takes to leading them easily.

Easy to say, the night is a success, or as much of a success as it can be; their new connection is exactly that, new. They both understand and respect that, because that's the kind of people they've grown to be.

There's still growing to be done, and so, they don't rush it, and they won't rush it. This feeling? It's too important to them, to both of them, in equal measure.


	30. Leaving Safety (p6)

I cannot believe I've spent 11 out of all 23 years of my life putting words into lines.

* * *

30\. Act VII: Leaving Safety (final)

Professor Socolovsky glances through the parchment listing this particular student's marks, the numerical figure of their academic prowess. He takes a moment to take it all in, and then looks up at the young man in the other side of his desk.

"Have you thought about your options?"

He receives a smile at this, something sure in that expression.

"Well…"

{0}

September 27th, 2019 {three years after graduating}

It isn't the first time a shop has opened in the magic square, just another building with open big windows being filled slowly with furniture; the outside of this particular future vendor had been covered in small stones with moss filling the gaps, thin wooden frames where the glasses and door would go, a sign in the shape of a pair of potion vials, both half-filled with liquid. one blue and the other magenta, laying on the ground against the outer wall.

The inside walls have been painted a cozy bluish green, with small creatures swirling around, playfully going from corner to corner as furniture flies into place; wood-painted shelves, vials of multiple colors and shapes, glass jars with rare ingredients, a small semi translucent table with a display of colorfully decorated cauldrons, a Prussian blue counter with an old but faithful register. A second frame, this one covered with curtains of crystal beads infused like marbles to look like small galaxies, hides a small hallway leading to the storage room as well as a small potion room fully equipped. Back in the front a silver perch sprouts its arms into branches allowing any avian that would enter the store to rest there should they be brave enough to approach.

Brave because the first bird to make itself comfortable on the perch is the familiar of the owner, a crow-sized creature with black body and blue head, eyes wiser than any animal; always watching, analyzing, judging. It's an eerie bird, an omen of some sort, but contrasting against the store, it finds home.

The owner of the store flits about making sure everything on view is in mint condition, carefully placing tracking and anti-theft spells on everything, because to him all of it is valuable enough. This does not mean his prices are costly, no, he understands the coin and fairly judges how much everything's worth; things like complexity, timing, rarity, and effectiveness coming to play.

"Good afternoon boss!"

The voice that cuts through his calculations is playful, almost sing-song in its tone, and belongs to a young woman in an indigo dress, her hair is short but angled to cascade into her shoulders, framing her face, which holds a warm smile and clever bluish-cyan eyes; it's half a toasty brown, and half an eye-catching magenta.

"Hello Ivy, I see you found the shop"

She gives a solemn nod, her own familiar makes a happy hissing sound from her shoulder, yellow eyes all but glistening.

"Eventually, and with a lot of help from Clover"

The shop owner smiles then, and he's grown a bit of a beard that will go away by opening time; because he only grew it to see if he could, and actually doesn't really like it.

"Why don't you help me set up shop and tell me how my other sisters are doing"

Ivy beams at that, making a small jump as she pulls out her wand and starts spinning a tale about her friends and their adventures in adulthood, even lamenting about the fact that a certain duo is still circling each other despite the years. As she moves to open another one of the boxes, she catches a glint of something shiny and gasps.

"Eric, you know you're my favorite brother"

He arches an eyebrow at her from where he's levitating some empty glass vials into a specifically designed shelf.

"I'm your only brother"

Ivy ignores his sass.

"Why do you have a ring?"

He blinks at her, then looks at his hand, and the ways his face shifts is kind of similar to a river being freed from a press, wild, raw, and joyous. He turns back to her with this tiny smile that does little to hide the amount of emotion in his eyes.

"You'll never guess who proposed"

She lets out a high-pitched sound as she all but tackles him, which he was expecting if the lack of broken glass is anything to go by, he chuckles at her, a little winded but otherwise unbothered. They untangle themselves and finish preparations in a giddy energy, but Ivy waits until the last second, until they hang the sign atop the door proclaiming 'Potion & Prose' almost proudly, until they sit in behind the desk waiting for their friends.

"So, is it going to be Peterson-Parsley, or Parsley-Peterson?"

And Eric, wonderfully kind man that he's become, raises his head towards the ceiling as if in a silent prayer for a whole second, before he sighs and turns to her; or rather starts to but then stops and smiles softly.

"Why don't you ask him?"

And when Ivy turns, there's Liam, with Scott and Rosalinda on tow; and his eyes are only on them as he smiles almost ruefully.

"Can't we do both?"

And Eric laughs, bright, loud, and giddy; before he stands and crosses to the other side of the counter.

"Welcome to Potion and Prose, what can I help you with?"

The other three laugh and finish entering the shop, and the world outside their doors keeps spinning.

The End.


End file.
